Wounded
by Batekatt
Summary: AU, OOC, LIME&LEMONISH! Be warned! RaAk. Ranma was abandoned in China when he was 16 by his father. Now, 3 years later, he meets Akane. Can she help him heal, and find his family?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters!

This is just a taste of my story, but since it's going to be heavily lemon later on, I'll post the whole story on http/ you'll enjoy it...!

**Wounded**

**Chapter 1**

Akane scanned the crowd with experienced eyes, unconsciously noticing every exit and dead end, making several plans for escape, while she on the conscious level looked for a safe source for information. She pointedly ignored all the burly men that looked her up and down, undressing her with their eyes, and just walked slowly across the room around the fighting ring in the centre. Through the cigarette-thick air she could see over a hundred men buzzing about and a couple of women too, although she would rather pick a fight with the men than the women she saw. The people where from 16 to 60 years or older, and there where three groups of them; those who came to fight, those who came to watch and place bets on the fights, and of course those who made the show run smoothly. The room was dark and dirty, the only light falling onto the ring, and it gave the place a feeling much like a dungeon from the medieval times. She felt out of place in her slightly tomboyish clothes, with everyone else dressing like pimps in expensive dresses, or in well-worn fighting costumes. Her own pin-striped grey business suit, with pants that fitted tightly over her butt and thighs, wide boot-cut legs, and a jacket that fitted perfectly over her thin white blouse, (clothes which her sister Nabiki had bought for her to wear when she worked for her) made her stand out like a supermodel in a freak-show. Still, she was thankful that she didn't have to wear the micro-skirts that her sister favoured. As she had pointed out to Nabiki; if she was going to play bodyguard for her when Nabiki was out on 'business', she needed clothes she could fight in. Absentmindedly, she threw her long braid over her shoulder, and was about to turn back to the entrance when she spotted a girl walking towards the changing rooms in the back. Walking quickly she avoided several groping hands, and stopped the girl in her path.

"Hi, my name is Tendo Akane. Would you mind talking with me for a couple of minutes?" Akane introduced herself with a friendly voice and a trying smile, yet kept her guard up without inviting for trouble.

The girl frowned at her suspiciously, looking her up and down with a glance, and finally gave a short nod.

"Well, I was wondering if you had some knowledge to share about this place? Any special 'rules' I should know of, or any people you could tell me about? I noticed you walk like a martial artist, so I thought you might know your way around here…" Akane swept a look over the room as she talked, checking if anyone tried to listen in and looked for signs of trouble. The girl she talked to noticed the glance she gave the room, and smiled slightly back to Akane.

"If you want to, we can go somewhere else and talk. I just arrived here a few days ago myself, but I'm willing to share what I know." She said

Akane's smile grew a bit wider at that, happy she had judged the girl correctly, and indicated with her hand for the girl to lead the way. The girl looked up to one of the narrow windows under the high roof, and sighed when she saw it was still raining. Shrugging, she lead the way towards the entrance and out to the wet streets where she pointed to a small café up the street.

"Would that be okay for you? I'd like to grab a bite to eat while I'm out here."

"Sure. I'll even pay for your food in exchange for the info."

The girl lead Akane up the street, grinning even more now with the prospects of something to eat for free. Inside the café there were several available tables to choose from, but the girl headed straight for a table which overlooked most of the café, while still giving the needed private feeling, and with several options for a quick exit if necessary. Akane was relieved that she'd chosen a safe table and sat down opposite the girl, deciding to order something warm for herself too as the waitress approached.

While they waited for their food to come, Akane looked more closely at the girl. She was slightly smaller than herself, with red hair ending in a thin pigtail down her back and clear blue eyes under long lashes. Her eyes had a hard, guarded glint in them, and there was a thin, long scar going from under her left eye down to her jaw that Akane almost hadn't noticed. Her worn red Chinese shirt was several sizes too large for her, as was the black fighting pants she had on. The girl held her hands tightly together in front of her, and obviously was analysing Akane much like she had been. Akane gave her a warm smile, and saw a mix of emotions escaping her eyes before they became guarded again. Still, the smile obviously made her relax more, and she smiled shyly back.

"So, can I ask why you want info about the fight-club? You don't exactly look like the ordinary bookie or gangster that usually hangs around the place…"

The waitress came back just then, and Akane waited to answer until their order had been put down and they were left alone again.

"It's not really for me. I'm just snooping around before the fight tomorrow. It's my sister that wants all the information she can get. She's been handling money since before she could walk, and she's the best when it comes to making deals and handling bets." Akane smiled partially proud and partially ironic, thinking about her sister. "What about you? Do you fight?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say so." Obviously the red-head didn't want to talk about it, so Akane decided to not push her luck before she had gotten what she needed.

"Anyways, could you start by telling me some of the obvious things about this fight-club? Any special details you have picked up?"

"The first thing I noticed was that they don't treat girls very nicely there." The red-head snickered. "So you might want to bring with you something else than just your fists tomorrow."

"You didn't seem to have much of a problem, though..?"

"They know me… Other than that, you should keep an eye out for a guy wearing a huge purple fur coat - he's running the bets for the locale 'Mafioso', and a huge woman with a whip wearing latex or leather - she's the caretaker for the fight-club manager, and she takes care of the money that threatens to leave with those that aren't approved of by the management. There's also a couple of rich kids I've noticed that likes to play around at the fight-nights, and the management approves of them. You'll know what I mean when you see them."

"Okay, I think I can remember most of that. I'll just put down a couple of notes just in case. One sec' please." Akane whipped out a small notebook and quickly put down a few words. When she looked back up she was surprised to see that the red-head had already inhaled her entire XXL meal, and was now trying to not stare at Akane's half-eaten meal. Akane suddenly felt bad for the girl, for some reason imagining her going hungry for days at a time, and looked down on her plate.

"Umm… This was really good, but I'm all filled up already… Do you think the owners will find it rude if I don't finish the meal..?" she looked back up at the red-head.

"If you want to, I can finish it for you?" the red-head answered quickly, trying to hide her hopeful expression.

"Would you?" Akane shoved her plate towards the girl, who smiled brightly to her. She didn't take long to eat up the rest of the food, and she soon leaned happily back in her chair, stretching lazily.

"Thanks, that was good. Was there anything else you wanted to know?"

"Let's see..." Akane looked at some notes she had in her book, skimming through a couple of pages. "I've talked to some people about the fighters for tomorrow. Would you mind double-checking what I've got?"

"If you let me have a look, I'll check it with what I know already." The red-head looked through the pages, using a pen to correct a couple of things, and added some names and numbers. Akane looked at what she wrote, and frowned in confusion at one of the numbers the girl had changed.

"Why did you change the numbers so drastically for Saotome?"

"Let me just say that I've got some inside information, and as a thank you for a nice meal and pleasant company, I can tell you that that guy has a lot more going than he lets people know. He's plenty smart when it comes to fighting. With the adjustments I made, you should make lots of money."

"Well, I like to look at the fighters for myself before it all starts, my sister trusts my judgment, but I appreciate the advise. I'll have it in mind tomorrow. If what you say is true, then you might have saved us a lot of money… Here, take this." Akane handed the girl a business-card. "It's my sister's company, but I've written my name and number on the back also. If you ever need a favour, just call. Officially she's an investigator, with specialities in the economics field, but whatever it is you might need, we can get it for you." Akane got up, left money on the table for the waitress, nodded briefly to the red-head and left the café. The girl almost didn't notice her leaving as she was studying the card intensely, turning it around and reading it again and again.

**#8#8#**

The red-headed girl walked back to the fight-club through the rain, muttering intently to herself from time to time. Several thoughts ran through her head, and if someone who didn't know her had heard them, they would have believed that she was demented or worse. #I could trace down mom, see if the old man told the truth to me - which would be a first. If nothing else, I could see her grave, if there is one. And if they could find my old man…then I could beat the living shit out of the stupid panda…make him pay, finally…# Walking through the club to the changing rooms in the back, her thoughts changed. #Akane Tendo…I wonder how she'll react when she learns the truth. Will she be disgusted, like so many others? I bet she'll never give me one of those heartbreaker-smiles again… But I need to know the truth about mom. I've waited so long.# Sighing deeply, she scooped up her things, ignored several guys looking her over, and giving the optimistic ones deadly stares so they quickly scurried out of her way, and walked out of the club again. #Stupid of her to wander in here alone. Even if she knows some martial arts - with the way she moved, and the positions she placed herself in it was obvious she's been doing this for a while - she still was way outnumbered if some of the guys in the club had decided to have some fun. Lucky for her that I got her out that soon. I could see the lust creeping into several of the slime-balls around here.# Walking up to a big concrete building, she whisked out her keys and locked herself in, heading up to her apartment taking the stairs in huge leaps. #Not that I don't get why they wanted her. Just the innocence and naiveté that radiated off her alone is enough for half of the club to go wild. Not much of that around here, and enough people who likes to destroy pure things like her. Bastards.# She stepped up to the door to her apartment, locked it up and walked in, slamming the door shut. Locking it, she turned and headed straight for the bathroom, throwing off her clothes as she walked, and stepped into the shower. #With those expensive clothes, she lighted up the place like a neon sign. You could see they were tailored, the way they clung perfectly to her curves. And she had plenty of that. Slim, well-built, cute, with a radiating smile, that long, thick blue-black hair and those large chocolate eyes… Who wouldn't want something like her to play with during the long nights... Jeez, those guys I see every day sure has filled my brain with perverted thoughts..! But I guess they're only putting into words the things I hardly dare to think…# Stepping back out of the shower, wiping the mirror over the sink with a rough hand, Ranma Saotome looked at his reflection; a handsome, strong young man, with clear blue eyes with a thin scar running from under his left eye down towards his jaw, his black hair in a pigtail, and his muscled torso covered with several scars. #We'll see what happens tomorrow…#

**Review if you'd like to... :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, this is what I've decided... I will post the story here at Fanfiction also, in addition to putting it on Mediaminer(dot)org, but I'll put up heavy warnings before the lemon parts... I'll even put the lemons in italic, and write a warning before it starts, and after it's over... If anyone still has a problem... Well... Then so be it...

So, here's the continuation on Wounded...

**Chapter 2 **

Nabiki walked into the fight-club, her cold eyes calculating everything she saw, from the prices on peoples clothes and shoes and jewellery, to the room itself and the scarce inventory. She got several lustful stares as she stood unaffected in her navy blue micro business skirt and jacket, balancing perfectly on her high heals. She stared right through people, making several shiver from her icy smile. Akane walked up next to her, wearing a warm yellow long-sleeved silk shirt, ordinary black pants, and shoes comfortable for a long walk or a fight - with hidden steel inside the leather. Hidden in her pockets she had something to put her fingers through that gave her a much harder and vicious punch, and Nabiki had a gun and a maze and some other un-lady like stuff hidden in her smart purse and on some unmentionable parts of her body. Akane immediately noticed several of the people the red-head had mentioned the night before. Carefully making sure that Nabiki also noticed them, she scanned the crowd that was larger than the day before.

"Let's take a look at the fighters." She said, motioning for Nabiki to follow.

"This is an interesting place. I don't believe we've been so deep in the slum for a long time, dear sis." Nabiki drawled in a low voice to Akane.

"Just don't let the wrong people hear what you think of them, Nabiki. I doubt even I can take on this crowd, even with all the practise I've got…" Akane's thoughts briefly went to earlier school years, but as she spotted some of the fighters she shoved her thoughts to the back of her mind. Most of them were as the rumours had told them, and the corrections the red-head had made was right on the spot. Akane and Nabiki ignored the comments several of the fighters made, and silently discussed amongst themselves before Nabiki pulled up her cell phone and made a call. While she talked on the phone, Akane felt a pair of eyes on her back, and as she turned she saw a young man around her own age - late teens or early twenties - in Chinese style clothes, looking at her with clear blue eyes. His black hair was pulled back into a tight pigtail, and he had a nearly invisible scar going from under his left eye down to his jaw. He seemed kind of familiar, and she almost smiled to him before she remembered where she was and what she was doing. She realised he had to be Ranma Saotome, whom the red-head had such high thoughts about. Before she could change her mind, she walked towards him. With a business-smile, she held out her hand to him.

"Hello. My name is Tendo Akane. You are one of the fighters tonight, correct?"

"Saotome Ranma… Yeah, I'm a fighter." He took her hand and shook it slightly, holding it a few seconds longer than necessary. He glared over to some guys who commented on Ranma getting lucky and being asked to share the goodies, before he turned his back to them. "Just ignore them. A bunch of idiots, that's all they are."

"Oh, and that makes you?"

"Wanna find out?"

"Right now I just want to know if you're a good fighter." Akane managed to pull herself together as soon as she realised she was actually flirting with him. She almost thought she saw a disappointed look in his eyes, but it was gone the next second. She was still a bit shaken up at the feel of his rough hand, and was thankful when Nabiki came to join them.

"Tendo Nabiki, Akane's employer, sister, and proud owner of Tendo Enterprises. So, you're the one who's gonna win us some money tonight."

"Nabiki! Manners!" Akane gave her sister an irritated glare.

"Relax sis, I'm sure you can take care of things if I screw up. Right, Saotome?"

Ranma looked at the sisters, and couldn't resist to smile at their bickering. He felt the envious stares most of the guys in the room gave him, and enjoyed it, but even though Nabiki had a cold, sexual seductiveness over her, he would rather have continued with the careful flirting with her sister. Akane looked even sweeter today in her more casual clothes, and he could feel the warmth from her personality radiate off of her. The warm yellow shirt she wore gave her eyes a golden tone, and he was surprised at the immediate attraction he felt. He thought he had imagined things yesterday, but if anything Akane effected him even more today.

"You wouldn't get all the money I'm gonna win you tonight if your sister could take me that easy, now would you..?" Ranma gave Nabiki a naughty smile, which she returned with a shark-grin.

"I like you already, Saotome."

"Actually… maybe you could take a bet from me too. On me, of course." Ranma looked at Nabiki questioningly.

"With pleasure, young man..! Let me just get the details, before you go and make us both rich."

Akane watched the exchange between Ranma and her sister, trying to ignore the distracting effect Ranma had on her as she expanded her senses to be prepared for trouble. The air was tense with expectations, fear and fighting spirit. There was a low buzz all over the place, and she could see the man in the purple fur coat standing surrounded by several not-so-innocent looking bodyguards on the other side of the ring, and a large - but nowhere near fat - woman in tight leather pants and a latex top strolling through the crowd that parted before her, a whip hanging from her belt.

"I have also heard about your company, Tendo Nabiki, and I'm thinking about hiring you to find a couple of people for me. Is that within your area of expertise by any chance?" Ranma asked.

"Nothing is impossible, Saotome. Maybe we should meet somewhere else and discuss matters? If you win, I'll buy you a drink at a bar I know downtown afterwards, if you'll join us?" Nabiki's eyes already shone with curiosity and dollar-signs.

"I don't drink alcohol, but I'll join you for some juice or tea instead. But right now I think you better move back to your places. Not long before you're rich now." Ranma smiled slightly, and the smile grew the tiniest bit as he turned to Akane and nodded politely. He then turned and walked to the back to prepare. Akane stood a moment and admired his cat-like grace, before Nabiki pulled her roughly back to reality.

"Snap out of it, sis. Wow, I've never seen you drool over a man like that since you had that crush on Dr. Tofu when you were little." Nabiki teased.

"I was just calculating his fighting skills! I think he's a lot more dangerous than he looks. I probably would have changed the numbers on him after seeing him, but I'd still like to thank the red haired girl I met yesterday. Hmm, wonder where she is now…" Akane frantically tried to shift Nabiki's interest from Saotome and over to something less embarrassing, and started to describe the meeting she'd had yesterday with the girl that gave her all the useful information.

**#8#8# **

Ranma could feel her eyes burning into his back as he walked away. He felt strangely clumsy and was relived when he felt her eyes leave him. Some of the guys he'd talked with since he'd arrived came over to him and wanted details. He tried to brush them off, but they still kept making obscene suggestions to him for several minutes until the first match started. Ranma tried to concentrate on analysing the fight, but found himself scanning the crowd looking for the Tendo sisters. They weren't so hard to find, 'cause Akane's shirt shone brightly yellow in the dark crowd. He looked over at them for a minute or two, and remembered that they would meet again later at a bar ifwhen he won. For the first time in several years he felt motivated by something else than his own foolish pride or his love for the Art. The first fight was over, and he began to look forward to his own fights.

**#8#8# **

Akane tried to spot Ranma while she talked with Nabiki. The first couple of fights had gone the way they hoped, and had earned them a fair amount of money. Nabiki was in a good mood, and not even the slimiest of comments could dampen their spirits.

"There he is. Looks like he's next." Nabiki bumped into Akane and pointed down by the ring. Akane flushed red as Nabiki hadn't been fooled by her pretence of not being interested in anything about Ranma.

"Oh… Well, it'll be interesting to see if he's as good as I think he is."

"Yeah, and that's the only reason that you've been scanning the crowd for him since we found our seats…" Nabiki laughed. "Don't worry, sis. I've got a feeling that we'll see more of him in the immediate future. And he seemed to eat you up with his eyes, so I'd say you've got a fair chance with him…"

The next fighters got ready as soon as the ring was cleared. Ranma walked in, standing casually, while his opponent showed off his muscled body to the audience, acting like a pro wrestler. The 'judge' made his speech, and the fight was on. The big-muscled guy attacked Ranma viciously, but every time it looked bad he hit only air. Ranma danced around the large man, taunting him, and just slapped him lightly now and then. The crowd laughed at the angry man charging around the ring like a bull, and they clapped and whistled for every show Ranma made for them. Soon, the crowd roared for a kill - meaning that they wanted Ranma to charge the larger man - and Ranma turned to the audience and shouted out,

"Do you want me to end this? Should I take him down?"

The crowd shouted several methods and things they wanted him to do, but Ranma just stood there grinning, looking like he didn't notice the large man sneaking up on him from behind. At the last second, he back flipped over the man behind him, delivered several hard kicks and punches to the man, almost too fast to see, and stood casually with his hands behind his head and watched as the man slowly fell to the ground with a great thump. There was silence for a split second before the crow went wild. Ranma bowed theatrically and left the ring to the shouts of Saotome! Saotome! Saotome!

"Wow… He isn't as good as he hinted, or as good as I thought…. He's a hell of a lot better than I had ever imagined! That's a walking goldmine!" Nabiki was already calculating all the opportunities.

Akane just stared. She couldn't believe how good he was. How much better than her he was. She felt strangely proud of him, and was immensely jealous of his skills. She knew they had seen close to nothing of his real skill and strength, but even the small amount he showed told of a world-class fighter.

Both Tendo girls watched in silent awe the rest of the night, not seeing anyone near Ranma's league, and Nabiki even got tears in her eyes when she thought of all the money they won on him. The crowd loved Ranma, and they laughed at the way he showed off and gave them a show different from anything they'd ever seen before.

Akane suddenly noticed that the large woman with the whip was talking to some important looking men who gestured to Ranma. She immediately remembered her duties as her sister's bodyguard, and whispered quickly to Nabiki to make an escape through the nearest exit. They ducked low behind the people standing around shouting encouraging to Ranma, and made it to the door before anyone cared to take notice of them. The guard was so entranced with watching Saotome show off that Akane had plenty of time to knock him out before he realised what was happening. Out in the chill air, Nabiki hurried to a waiting car. Entering, she pulled out a plump envelope which she handed to Akane.

"I think you'll get in and out easier without me to worry about. Give this to Saotome, it's his winnings from the bet, and get him out here so we can go have a drink and celebrate."

"Okay. I'll be right back!"

Akane sprinted back in past the knocked out guard, and chose a long path around the room with less people in it. As soon as she reached the doors to the changing rooms, she waited until she was sure no one saw her before she slipped inside. Tiptoeing around several corners, she hid in the deep shadows between lockers, and waited. She almost yelped from surprise when the door into the changing rooms went up with a bang. There was a lot of noise and laughter, and several of the fighters passed her talking loudly. Finally Ranma came in, smiling broadly at all the attention the others gave him. Akane almost fell out of the shadows as Ranma stopped next to the place she was hiding in and whispered quietly without looking in her direction,

"Miss Tendo… This is a guy's changing room, you really shouldn't be here… Listen up, this is what we're gonna do…" Ranma explained the way to the back door, and walked on as if nothing had happened, joking with the other men in the room and drawing their attention while Akane slipped out of the shadows and sneaked back to the door she had been told to wait at.

"You really should change your habit about strolling around these guys all the time" This time Ranma's voice made Akane jump, as she hadn't noticed him walking up behind her. She spun around quickly, tripping over her own feet, and bumped roughly into Ranma who stood closer to her than she had thought. He kept her from falling down on the floor, holding her gently to him as she slowly looked up at him, her eyes wide with shock.

"Um…ah…money…" she pressed the envelope shakily to him, her heart racing, and not because he had surprised her. "…drink…Nabiki…outside…" she babbled on, feeling her face flush tomato red as she breathed in his warm scent.

"Well, you're not the most well-spoken girl I've run into, but you get the important parts across…" He looked down at her, his eyes darkening in colour, and slowly let her stand on her own feet. "Listen, there's this guy guarding the door outside. The easiest way to get out without questions is if you pretend to be an infatuated fan or something, and we can walk off into the sunset together - or at least to the bar." He said with a cheeky grin. He held out his arm, indicating her to lean onto his shoulder, and smiled.

Akane was still shaking slightly, and without managing to think of anything else to do, she obediently stepped up to him and let him put his arm around her shoulders. They went to the door, and walked outside tightly against each other. The big, beefy guard gave them a glance, and just smiled knowingly to Ranma with thumbs up, before they rounded the corner. Ranma didn't let go immediately, but slowly let his arm slip down her back, resting it lightly against the small of her back.

"So, where's your sister?"

Akane managed to pull her self together, and led him towards the waiting car. She slid in first, and Ranma followed closely.

"Congratulations Saotome. Tonight you've made me a very happy woman, and there aren't many men who can claim that." Nabiki smiled coolly at him, and tapped on the glass wall behind the driver. The car pulled out from the parking space, and 10minutes later they arrived at a small but cosy bar.

**#8#8# **

The bar was neither shabby nor expensive, it was just right. They took seats at a small corner table, and ordered something to drink and some snacks. As soon as they had been served, Nabiki pulled out her own notebook.

"You mentioned you might have a job for us. Feel like discussing it now?"

Ranma sipped his ice-tea slowly, trying to formulate what he wanted to say, and what he didn't want to say. He looked over at Akane, who was back to her old self - he guessed, and back to Nabiki.

"Yes, there's two things I would like you to do. First, I want you to find my mom."

"Your mother. Okay, what's her name, how old is she, when did you last see her, and under what circumstances..?"

"Her name is Saotome Nodoka. I don't know her age. Last time I saw her I was 6 years old. That's 14 years ago now."

"…That complicates things… Is there anything else you can tell us. Where did you live then?"

"I can't really remember… but my pop's name is Saotome Genma, maybe that'll help. I want you to find him too. Him I saw 3 years ago. In China."

"So you want us to find your parents, Saotome Nodoka and Saotome Genma, and you don't really have any information that can help…"

"No, that's the whole point! If I had known anything at all, I might have found them myself! All I know is that we lived in Japan before my stupid old man took me away on that 11 year long training trip…" Ranma tried to calm himself, and closed his eyes breathing deeply. He knew it wasn't fair to take his rage out on them, but it was a sore spot he had.

"Don't worry, if anyone can find them, Nabiki can." Akane patted his arm reassuringly, but pulled her hand back as he looked up at her. She blushed again as he continued to stare at her for several minutes.

"Thank you… Anyway, before my pop left, he told me a couple of things, but I don't know if it's true or not. First, he told me about an agreement he and my mom had made me sign, that stated that if I didn't return a 'man amongst men', me and my pop would have to commit seppuku." Nabiki's face hardened, and Akane gasped in horror. "Then, when I said I still wanted to go home, he told me that my mom had died during our trip. I don't know if it's true, 'cause if the seppuku part is true, then that would explain why he didn't want me to see mom."

"But…why didn't he want you to contact your mother?" Akane asked confused.

"4 years ago, my old man took me to some old Chinese training grounds called Jusenkyo. There's lots of springs there, and we were supposed to train aerial combat. What he didn't bother to stop and find out from our guide is that every spring there is cursed… If you fall into one, you change into whatever drowned there every time you're hit with cold liquid, and return to normal with hot liquid. My old man fell first, into the Spring of Drowned Panda… I was so shocked I fell into another spring…"

Akane and Nabiki gaped, not quite believing him, but hearing the sincerity in his voice.

"Ehm… If this is true, what does it have to do with your mother?"

"Because I fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl… and returning with the body of a girl supposedly isn't all that manly, even though I don't change on the inside."

"…I… I hope you understand that I require a bit more proof than just your word for it, since I do not know you…" Nabiki was about to toss her cold lemonade at Ranma when Akane grabbed her glass.

"You could at least pretend to have manners from time to time, Nabiki. He would be pretty sticky if you're going to pour that over him. Why not ask for hot and cold water, if he agrees to demonstrate it to us." She turned to Ranma. "Would that be okay for you, Saotome? It doesn't hurt you or anything, I hope?"

"No, I hardly notice the change itself. It's gotten me into a lot of trouble, I can tell you. Fighting people when it starts raining, and before I know it, I shrink into this female form, and the people I fight often gets so shocked they faint. Although that has actually been an advantage sometimes."

Ranma intently studied his hands as Akane went to the bar and asked for hot and cold water. He knew it was stupid of him, but he hoped that they would react differently to his curse than the way so many others had. He willed his hands not to tremble, and looked at Akane as she came back with the water.

"Just pour some of the cold water over my head."

Akane did as she was told, and dropped the glass when he shrank into a form she knew from before. The red-headed girl. Nabiki was speechless, looking himher up and down, and reached out a hand to prod himher. Ranma winched, and Akane looked sternly at her older sister.

"Nabiki, that's not polite!" Akane poured some hot water over Ranma before Nabiki could embarrass him too much, and dumped down into her chair just looking at him. "Well, that explains a thing or two… And your father felt that this was in violation with the agreement you had with your mother?"

Ranma looked shocked at her. He had often gotten the reaction that Nabiki showed, being prodded and looked at like a strange caged animal, but he had never seen anyone react like Akane. She was a bit pale, but otherwise she could still talk, and she didn't shy away from him.

"Eh… Yeah. Pops felt that me coming home as a girl didn't qualify as manliness. And he was so scared of his own hide that I believe he might have lied about mom being dead, and I also think that could be why he disappeared himself - 'cause I still wanted to go home."

"I can't believe I didn't see it… Your eyes are the same, your hair the same - except the colour - and the scars are the same… I must have been blind." Akane shook her head, smiling slightly.

"You seem to be pretty comfortable with this. Why?"

"Well, it's not the first time I've come across something a bit out of the ordinary. I've seen my share of magic and special talents, and besides - you haven't done anything to make me pissed off or anything. Would you feel more comfortable if I behave like Nabiki here..?" Nabiki twitched slightly as her name was mentioned, but she still stared unblinking at Ranma, looking like she was expecting rabbits to jump out at any minute.

"No, that's okay. I'm kind of tired of the freak-show response I usually get. Anyways, do you think you can find them? I think I've told you most of what you need to know about the situation."

"I'll take Nabiki home and get her out of this catatonic trance, and we'll see what we can do. How do we contact you?"

"Just leave a message at the club that you've got news for me, and I'll call you back as soon as I can. I've rented an apartment not far from the club, but I haven't got a phone there yet."

"Okay, we'll do that. I'll get my sis home now, and we'll probably talk again later, Mr Saotome. Have a nice night, and congratulations on your victory." Akane bowed to him and more or less carried her sister out of the bar after taking care of the bill.

**#8#8# **

As Akane went to bed that night, her thoughts kept returning to Ranma Saotome. She had surprised herself with her calm acceptance when he'd told them about his curse. The only explanation she could think of is that she subconsciously had recognised the girl she met the first day, and she liked him either way. Not that she swung towards girls, but she didn't know many female martial artists - and none as devoted to the art as herself. She had hoped to make a friend, and she still wanted that, even though the girl turned out to be a boy. Besides, he looked like he could use a friend. The relief had shone clearly in his face when he saw her reaction to his revelation, and she had felt a compassionate tug in her heart at the loneliness he radiated.

Nabiki had babbled on about curses and magic for several hours before she got her self-control back and her mask of ice slid back in place. They had discussed how to approach the job of finding the Saotome couple, and had contacted people for a standard search to begin with. That involved checking the papers on people travelling between Japan and China for the name Saotome, looking through the last 15 years or so. They would also check all the official search engines - like death-, birth-, and marriage records - for the family name, and hopefully they would get lucky and be able to narrow down the search to specific arias instead of the whole of Japan.

She wiggled into a comfy position under her blanket, and before long she dreamed sweetly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Ranma didn't hear anything from the Tendo sisters for several days except for a message the first day telling him they had started the search. He kept training and sparring at the fight-club, gaining more respect for every day, and enjoying the luxury of having his own apartment. The prize he won the other night coupled with the winnings from the bet would last a long time, allowing him to relax instead of searching for another fight. Late at night he would lay in bed thinking about Akane Tendo, wondering about what she were doing, and imagining what he would do or say the next time they met. It felt good to have something positive to think about, and he also was excited about the search for his family. He immensely enjoyed the brighter emotions he was experiencing, and slowly turned his back to the darkness he'd been wandering in for the last 4-5 years. Laughter became a part of his days again, though he had never stopped laughing - it just changed from the morbid humour he'd drifted into, to a lighter, more innocent laugh, simply enjoying life.

This afternoon he was at the club working out, trying to ignore the way everything around him made him think about Akane. His opponent tried to take advantage of his distraction, but Ranma's lifelong training had left him with reflexes and autonomic reactions that allowed him to fight blindfolded with both hands tied behind his back against anyone from level 'Good' and down. Ranma ducked and weaved around, giving his opponent more exercise than he got himself, and finally his sparring partner held up his hands, calling for a stop.

"That...that's enough...for me...for now..." he breathed heavily, dumping down to the floor.

"Okay. Thanks for the 'workout'. I'll see you tomorrow!" Ranma grinned as the man on the floor just growled after him, and whistled as he climbed out of the ring. He stopped for half a second as he felt someone looking at him, and his heart raced as he turned and saw Akane Tendo.

"Hello." Akane greeted him in a light tone, looking more like a little girl this time in a fluffy deep-green sweater, a short black skirt and deep green thigh-highs. Her long hair was just pulled back with a loose bow, with a couple of stray hairs hanging over her shoulders.

"Hi. What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too." Akane huffed, pretending to be miffed but didn't hide her growing smile.

"Sorry, I'm just surprised, that's all. I thought you guys would just send me a message, not pop up here in person." Ranma smiled. "So, how are you? Things going okay?"

"Why don't we go to that café or something, and I'll fill you in?"

"Sure, that would be nice. I'll just take a quick shower here first. Would you be okay out here?" Ranma scanned the room quickly, but saw only a couple of fighters and none of the more unpleasant crowd.

"I'm a martial artist too you know, I'll be fine! Just run along now, I can take care of myself" She stuck up her nose, and went to find a clean seat to sit down in. Ranma shook his head, but decided to run to the shower instead of bickering with her. It was one of his quickest showers ever, and a couple of minutes later he walked back out and saw Akane talking with his sparring partner. He felt irrational anger surge up in him, and fixed a glare at the man who obviously tried to charm Akane. She laughed as Ranma walked up behind her, and he suddenly felt extremely jealous of the man who had that light silver sound directed towards him. Akane had obviously noticed him, 'cause she turned and smiled.

"Finished already? You sure were quick! I never manage to be that efficient, and I've tried for several years. Somehow I always use at least 10 more minutes than I intend to." She grinned, and stood up brushing off her skirt.

The man she had talked with also stood up, looking cautiously at Ranma before he turned to Akane. "No fun that Ranma gets to take you out, and you won't even tell me your name… At least give me your number, Beautiful, and I promise to be a gentleman…" He winked at her conspiratorially and Ranma was about to punch him in the face when Akane laughed again.

"I told you I don't give out my number to just anybody. I don't know you, and I'm not really interested in getting to know you right now. Sorry, but I've got to go. But you can still be a gentleman, you know." She winked back at him. Ranma grinned triumphantly at the unlucky guy as he pulled Akane's arm onto his in a very gentleman way, and led her out of the club. She let her arm rest lightly in the crook of his arm, and they walked silently to the café enjoying the sunny weather. Ranma held open the door for her, and when he pulled out a chair for her she laughed as she sat down with great dignity. He snapped his fingers at the waiter and ordered them both some green tea and cookies.

"Thank you kind sir." She giggled like a little girl, and waved him down in his own chair. "Where did you learn manners like that? I didn't think you could learn things like that on the road, besides it was not very Japanese, was it? More like western etiquette, I would say."

The waiter came back and served the tea, whipped out a plate of chocolate cookies, and took the money Ranma handed him.

"I learned it from a gentleman-fighter I met about 3 years ago, right after my pop left and I entered my first arranged fight. I needed the money for food and clothes, and won easily enough. Thanks to my old man I'm an excellent fighter, but I sucked at socialising. I would just throw insults, or say close to nothing at all as I constantly put my foot in my mouth. The man I won against has such style I had never seen before, a dignified grace that made it seem like he won even though he lost. As if nothing could destroy his honour. He came and talked to me afterwards, and even though I was as rude as ever, he decided to take me under his wings and show me a thing or two. We travelled together for about 6 months, me teaching him several fighting techniques in exchange for him teaching me about composure and manners. It took a while, but he taught me how to turn my insecurities and weaknesses into strengths or how to put them aside until I could deal with them. I highly admired him, the way he could silence the strongest and most brutal of fighters with just a stare. He's also the one who showed me the ropes and tricks in the 'business'." Ranma fidgeted with the menu, looked up at Akane and smiled. "Now it's your turn. What do I own the pleasure of your company, miss Tendo? Have you found something already?"

"Please, just say Akane… 'Miss Tendo' makes me feel like I'm 5 years old again. No, nothing new yet, but we didn't count on getting any results this soon. The reason for my visit - if I need one - is that we have a business proposal for you. Me and Nabiki were discussing some deals yesterday, and as her reputation spreads we get more jobs and less time to work in. We thought about splitting up, since I've learned all I need to know about the company from her, but we've always coupled up for safety. What we were thinking is that Nabiki could concentrate on all the 'safe' jobs, and I could take care of all the necessary 'slumming'…" Ranma was about to interrupt her telling her just what an idiotic idea it was, but halted as she held up her hand. "…but I know it's dumb to go alone on those jobs. Would you consider going with me as extra muscle and with needed experience from the fighting-clubs, as payment for the job we're doing for you?"

Ranma studied her carefully, noticing the way the deep green colour of her sweater brought a green undertone to her eyes, her hair curling around her face caressing her cheeks, the slight pout in her red lips… There would be plenty of trouble trying to keep her safe, but he wouldn't trust anyone else to be able to protect her. She would be like honey to the bugs in the slum.

"So you scratch my back, and I scratch yours? I'll do it on one condition…"

"Name it."

"I make the calls when we enter the fighting arenas. You can be in charge of the business side, but I'll do most of the talking, and you do as I say if it looks like trouble's coming."

She wrinkled her nose in an adorable way, contemplating his demand, and stuck out her bottom lip looking at him. "Do I have to do everything you say? I'm not used to not being in charge of the safety and from time-to-time the fighting."

Ranma got an urge to bend over the table and kiss her, licking her cute pouting lips, and several naughty thoughts ran through his head as to what he would tell her to do if he could boss her around outside the fighting-arena, and he pinched himself in the arm under the table to get a grip on himself.

"I'm running my own Dojo, you know." She continued. "I'm taking it over after my father, and I'm teaching some classes in between the jobs I do for Nabiki. I scratch her back, and she helps me with the Dojo budget and some other problems."

"Really? You have your own Dojo? You lucky dog!"

"Oooh, jealous are we?" Akane smiled wickedly to him, and Ranma felt the smile hit him like a heat wave, making it hard to breathe for a second.

"Y-yeah… All I've ever known is the Art. And I love it, don't get me wrong, but I envy those who have more than just their name and empty hands." He couldn't believe he told this girl his innermost feelings so easily, but for some reason he trusted her. He noticed her eyes getting a soft look, and blushed looking away. "You won't tell the guys now, would you? They'd mock me for the rest of my pathetic life." He grinned weakly.

"Nah, your secret is safe with me. I'd love to show you my Dojo though. It's my whole life, I love the smell and touch, every dent in the boards…" Ranma saw a new tenderness creep into her face, the distant look focusing on something he couldn't even imagine.

"Maybe you could show it to me one of these days, if one of the jobs take us your way..? That is, if you've accepted the terms…"

"Okay Mr Saoto-"

"Ranma." He interrupted her.

"Okay… Ranma… You've got yourself a deal." Akane stood, holding out her hand.

"A deal it is, Akane…" Ranma stood and took her hand, but instead of shaking it, he brought it up to his lips, breathed in the scent of her skin and kissed it lightly. Akane blushed crimson and clumsily stepped back as he released her hand. He smiled and offered his arm to her, and she hesitated for a second before she shyly put her arm into his. His smile widened at this, and they slowly strolled out the door and back down the street.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

At their first 'business trip' Akane drove to Ranma's apartment, following his written directions, and pulled up next to the building as Ranma walked out. He raised a surprised eyebrow when he recognised her waving from behind the wheel. She opened the passenger door for him, and as he sat in he said,

"I didn't know you could drive..? Is it your car?"

"Yes! I bought it myself. It's cheap on the miles and is kind to the environment. Nabiki likes to have a chauffeur driving her around, but I prefer to have the control myself. Put on your seatbelt…"

"Yes, ma'am! Right away, ma'am!" Ranma grinned.

"Did you get a chance to look over the information I sent you?" Akane pulled out and drove off.

"Yeah… Your sister has some good sources. I've been there once, and I've heard several things about them, and most of what I remember I could find in your file."

"Good..! If you happen to know any good informants, we'd love to get to know them. Things like that can give you bonuses…"

"What kind of bonuses?"

"That's up to you, really. Depends if you're a money-person, or if you prefer other things. For example, we had one person who gave us some really valuable info, and in return that person got to go to his local cinema for free for a whole year - including popcorn and soda… Another had a collectors-series that was incomplete and with some damaged pieces, and we helped him make it complete and flawless."

"Hmm… Sounds cool… I'd better start thinking, then."

Ranma leaned back and relaxed as Akane weaved them in and out of traffic in an expert way. Through the corner of his eyes he studied her, feeling shabby in his worn clothes next to her tailored suit. The dark blue tone drew out the blue colour from her hair, but the suit looked much like the one he'd seen her in the first time they met. He had put on his least worn pants, and a white sleeveless Chinese shirt. He fidgeted with his arm braces.

"Akane? There's one more thing you might wanna know about these guys we're going to."

"Oh? What's that?"

"There's a rumour that they love to talk dirty to all the women they meet, and if they don't play along… Well, one of the guy's have this obsession with hot iron-pokes… Maybe it's best if we try to play along in the beginning?"

"Yeah, you're probably right. Thanks for the warning… By the way, maybe you should call me Tendo in front of the big boys, and I'll call you Saotome."

"Good thinking."

Just then Akane pulled up in front of a building slightly less shabby than the fight-club Ranma practised in.

"The offices are around on the back, but it looks like we've got an 'escort'."

Akane locked the car and lead the way, closely followed by Ranma and the 'escort'. The door in the back opened magically for them before they reached it, and without hesitation Akane stepped through.

**#8#8#**

Ranma let out a breath he didn't know he'd held as soon as they were safely back in the car. He'd almost lost his temper at a couple of the remarks Akane had got inside, but fortunately she responded a lot better than he had. Obviously she was used to dealing with those kinds of things. No wonder, with the kind of jobs her sister gave her.

Akane pulled up her cell-phone and dialled a number.

"Hi sis, it's me… The deal's on… Yes… Yes… No, that went okay… Just one thing - I was thinking clothes-… Yes… That sounds great, we'll do it right now… What?... Do I have to?... Okay… I said okay… See you later… Bye..." Sighing, she put her phone down, and buckled up.

"Okay, we're going shopping."

"Huh?" was Ranma's intelligent response.

"You need clothes-"

"What?"

"…to wear when we're out on business. Remember you're representing Tendo Enterprises now. It doesn't look good if we don't give the impression of success. Nabiki's orders."

"Oh… Okay, but only the necessities! I don't need charity, I've got my own money."

"Hey, don't get all sore on me now, it's nothing like that. I've also got a wardrobe strictly for work. Actually, I've got to pick up a dress Nabiki's ordered for me, so I'm not all that happy either."

"Why not? I thought all girls loved to shop and get new clothes?"

"Sure, shopping's fun, but not when I'm not the one who decides what I'm to wear… We've got this big dinner coming up, and Nabiki wants us all to look our best. We're getting a suit for you also…"

Ranma groaned.

"Oh, shush Ranma… You don't have to wear a cocktail-dress, so you don't have the right to complain… We're going to the shop me and Nabiki use. We'll try out several things and get the tailor to sow them specially for you, delivered right to your doorstep. And here we are… now get your butt out!"

Ranma looked at the shop and felt no need to leave the car, but Akane somehow pulled him out, #wow, she's strong!# and into the shop, where 3 different clerks were all over them the second they stepped in.

"Miss Tendo, what a pleasure! How may we help you today? Would you like to see your dress now?" said the one who obviously was the manager.

"No thank you, Francois, not just yet. First I need your help to dress up Mr Saotome here. He's my new colleague, and he's in desperate need of a new complete wardrobe." Akane pushed Ranma in front of her, and all 3 of the clerks started circling him like vultures.

"Yes, I can see what you mean. What would you like, Miss Tendo?"

"We can start with one Chinese suit, one western suit, some ordinary pants, silk shirts, and shoes. What have you got..?"

"Yes, yes, that sounds like a start. Paul, George! Let's start with the western suits." Francois snapped his fingers and his two associates scurried away, soon returning with several loads of clothes.

Akane sat down on a chair and looked at and commented on the clothes as they went through what seemed like half the shop. In the end she had chosen a steel blue Chinese style suit, 5 comfortable dark cotton pants, 7 differently coloured cotton shirts, 3 Chinese style sleeveless shirts, 2 silk shirts with black dragons embroidered - one red and one golden, a stylish black western suit, and 3 pairs of all-round shoes. Ranma was more tired than he had been for months. #This is way worse than sparring!#

"Thank you, Francois. That'll do for now. Just one more second, Ranma, so they can get your measurements." Akane grinned at the suffering expression Ranma wore, she had enjoyed seeing him in the different clothes.

"Should I bring out your dress now, Miss Tendo?"

Akane groaned but nodded him off, shooting a dark look at Ranma's smirk. "Don't you dare say anything!"

Ranma held up his hands peacefully, and slumped down into a chair as Akane walked off to the changing room. She was gone for quite a while, and he had dosed off when she talked to him.

"So, what do you think. Will this do?"

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes were her small bare toes peeking through a pair of golden high-healed sandals, slim legs disappearing up into a shimmering, body-hugging dress in yellow, orange and red tones. The velvet fabric made it look like flames licked over her body as she moved, the dress clinging to her hips and waist with the top dipping down to show off a moderate amount of cleavage under her bare shoulders. Akane stroked her hands over her waist and hips, fussing with the dress. Ranma realised that he was staring with his mouth open, drool hanging from one corner. Quickly he wiped it off, closing his mouth, only to open it again without managing to form any words.

"What? What is it? Is it that bad?" Akane looked like she was about to cry, and Ranma's tongue kicked back into function.

"No, no, no! It's gorgeous! You're gorg-… I mean, Y-you look f-fine…" Ranma blushed furiously, fidgeting with his fingers, trying to stare at anything but her, but finding his gaze straying back to her again and again.

"Really?" Akane's smile lightened the store, and Ranma lost his brain-function again. Just then Francois came rushing.

"Oh, Miss Tendo, it's perfect! If I may say so, I've done an excellent job! It's a joy to make dresses to someone with a body and face like yours, you and your sister makes my clothes look better than any of my other customers..!"

"Thank you, Francois. I think I'm pretty happy with it myself…" she said, glancing at Ranma. "And you've done a great job with the split I wanted. It gives me much more flexibility than the last time I tried it. Thank you. Would you send it home, and put all the bills on our account?"

"Yes, Miss Tendo, at once." He responded, tripping off to get the paper work done.

As Akane turned back to the changing rooms Ranma noticed the split she had mentioned. Not that it was hard to spot, as it went all the way from her ankle on her left side up to her hips, almost revealing her underwear.

- BONK - Akane looked back at the racket, and rushed over to where Ranma lay sprawled on the floor.

"Ranma, are you okay! What happened!" Akane kneeled down next to him trying to help him up, but he just fell over again, this time lying still, staring to her left. She followed his glazed look and saw that she now revealed the side of her black lace panties. Frantically trying to get back up, she tripped in her long skirt and landed on top of him. His arms automatically came up to steady her, grasping her waist, and they both froze, staring into each others eyes. Akane noticed that Ranma's eyes were dark and stormy, and his chest heaved against hers as if he'd just been running.

Ranma tried to decide what to do. His hands were almost shaking, feeling her warmth seep through the thin layer of clothes between them. His heart was thundering loudly in his ears, and he felt like he was hypnotised by her warm chocolate eyes. She looked shocked and insecure, her mouth a mute 'oh' a few centimetres away. Then they heard returning footsteps and Akane scurried off of him, unintentionally giving him a peak down her cleavage as she scurried back on her knees before she ran for the changing room. Ranma dropped his head back on the floor, again and again, as one of the clerks came into the room. The man stared wide-eyed at Ranma before he squealed and ran over to help him up.

"Mr Saotome, are you all right? Oh dear, what happened?"

"Don't worry, I'm okay… It was clumsy of me, I dosed off and slipped off the chair…" The clerk ran anxiously around, offering all sorts of drinks and pillows and candy to Ranma who waved it all away. Finally he accepted a small cup of ice-tea to the clerks relief. Sipping it, Ranma tried to banish all the hentai thoughts that flooded his mind. #Shit! Deep shit! Oh man, I'm in trouble. I'm lucky I didn't get clobbered. She wasn't wearing a bra! My God, she's beautiful! Good thing I didn't spray nasal-blood all over the shop! Oh, I hope I haven't ruined anything with my STUPID behaviour… Stupid, stupid, STUPID!#

Ranma's train of thoughts was interrupted as a red-faced Akane came back in her business-suit. Ranma felt like he had new eyes as he looked at her differently now. Sure, he knew she was attractive before, but now he couldn't look at her without seeing the more intimate details he had just felt and seen. To him she was perfect. The things that might be 'flaws' for other were just things that made her even more special to him, like the aggressiveness and control she'd shown before - to him it wasn't a bad thing. He'd never liked the silent, humble type anyway…

"We've got to go now, George. Say thank you to Paul and Francois for me, and... and we'll talk again later… "

"I will, Miss Tendo. Thank you. Goodbye Miss Tendo, Mr Saotome."

Ranma followed Akane silently to the car, driving back to his apartment in silence. As she parked in front of his building, he looked at her still blushing face.

"Akane, I… I'm sorry if I embarrassed you… I didn't mean to… It just… You were…"

"I-it's okay, Ranma."

"No, it's not okay. I didn't mean to make you so uncomfortable. It was wrong of me to not control myself better, and I hope you can forgive me. I hope I haven't ruined anything, and I really want to deserve your trust."

"Ranma… It wasn't really your fault. You didn't make me trip, I did that… Clumsy of me - heh…"

"Still, I should have had more control. I really would like to be your friend, and I hope I haven't scared you off."

"…It would be nice to be friends. We can try that. I'll probably blush like an idiot for the next week or so, but there's nothing to forgive." She smiled shyly to him, and he felt a weight lift off his racing heart. He smiled back and stepped out of the car, waving to her as he locked himself in and she drove off.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note:_ First I was refering to Ranma when in his girl form with 'he/she', but as it was brought to my attention how badly it disrupted the story, I've now changed it to 'he', no matter what form he's in... I just hope it isn't too confusing, and I'll try to 'remind' you of which form he's in to make things easier...

Enjoy!

**Chapter 5**

Akane was right when she predicted she would be blushing for weeks. She started blushing even before Ranma got into her car every time she saw him.

"Hi Ranma."

"Hi Akane. I've looked through the newest info you guys sent, and I haven't heard of this gang before. Anything special you want me to take notice of?"

Akane gave him a grateful smile as he gave her a chance to focus on their task, and her blush diminished slightly. She looked at him sideways, appreciating the way he looked in his new clothes, and tossed him a cell-phone.

"First thing first. Here - this is for business purposes. We've got your number already, and ours are saved in your list. This is for when you want to contact us, and if we need to reach you on the double. You know how to operate one?" Ranma nodded. "Good. As for today's meeting, we need to be prepared for anything. We've got a source talking about how another firm is trying to take over the betting-monopole on the place, so we don't know who we'll meet. Nabiki wants us to be careful, she seemed real tense about this deal."

"Okay. I just want to remind you that you promised to let me take charge if we need to fight our way out…"

"Yeah, I know… Don't worry, I'll let you take the lead."

She saw Ranma putting on some arm braces underneath his red shirt, and wished she had some too. The fact that Nabiki was concerned made her jumpy. She usually had a great hunch for such things.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Ready…"

It started smoothly, the fight-manager of the club willingly swapping the information he had acquired for a certain kind of pictures Nabiki had got hold on for him. He happily looked through them - photos of his favourite actress with her autograph on every single one - but then Ranma noticed his grin turning darker, as a small sound came from behind.

"I'm sorry, Miss Tendo, but I've gotten an even better deal now, although I'll keep these as a memento of my victory over the Tendo emporium." The manager sighed with cruel happiness and snapped his fingers in a very b-movie way.

Ranma reacted even before the manager finished the classic bad-boy move, and spun around in a vicious kick, levelling two men who had tried to sneak up on him.

"Bad idea, guys…" he snarled, taking a stance against the men who suddenly rushed the room. He heard the battle cries coming from Akane and men howling with pain, and tried to come up with a strategy other than fighting for the next couple of hours. They were two against what seemed like an endless stream of men, and he was relieved to see that Akane actually had an advantage in fighting against a large group, her style seemingly adopted to crowd-fighting. He made his way through the mob and ended up back-to-back with her.

"Listen up, I'm gonna surprise them now, just hang on afterwards - okay?"

"Okay, Saotome, lead the way!"

Ranma concentrated, and soon there was a glowing ball of energy between his hands, and with a yell he threw it through the nearest wall, the men nearby scattering for safety. He used the advantage of surprise to grab Akane and pull her after him through the hole, hoping to find a better place to fight if they were followed.

"Wow! Was that what I think it was? Can you manipulate chi?" Akane asked with awe, running next to him.

"Yeah. An old Amazon taught me. I'll tell you about it later, now we need to get to your car, before those idiots behind us recover from the shock. This way!"

"Wait! This is a blind alley!" But before Akane had a chance to stop, Ranma scooped her up in his arms and jumped high over the walls, touching lightly on the top before he bounced down on the other side, only a few meters from her car. He snatched her keys, more or less threw her into the car while he placed himself behind the wheel, starting the car and expertly manoeuvred the vehicle swiftly through the neighbourhood - without putting on his seatbelt, something Akane automatically protested at.

#What the hell just happened? Did he just fire off a chi-blast, pick me up like nothing and leap God-knows-how-high into the air and over a wall, throwing me into my own car and drive off in 007-style?# Akane struggled to sit up while Ranma raced down the street.

"We need to know what just happened back there, and I know exactly where to go." Ranma turned sharply, and Akane slammed into the passenger door, trying to hang on to whatever she could get her hands on. She managed to get her seatbelt on and was spared a lot of agony for the next 10 minutes. With screeching wheels, Ranma stood on the brakes and jumped out of the car almost before it stood still, barging across the street and slamming down a battered door.

"Ryoga! Where are you? Get your lazy ass out here this instant!" he roared.

By now, Akane had somehow got her body under control again, and came running after Ranma.

"Ranma, wait! What are you doing?" Then she skidded to a stop as a young man came out in the hall, glaring at Ranma. His yellow and black bandanna glinted strangely and his fangs showed as he spoke.

"Ranma, what the hell did you ruin my door for! Don't you know how to knock!" Then he spotted Akane, and froze. "Ah… gah… uh…"

"Come on, Ryoga, I haven't got time for your nonsense now. I need some quick info, and I bet you've got what I want."

"Ngh… heh… eh…"

"Jeez, is it necessary to loose all brain-functions every time you see a pretty girl!" #Not that I'm all that much better when it comes to Akane…# "Akane, this is Ryoga Hibiki, an old acquaintance of mine… Ryoga, this is Akane Tendo, a friend."

#Did Ranma just say that I'm pretty?# Akane blushed and nodded to Ryoga, and blushed even more when she saw the way Ryoga looked at her.

Ranma sighed and pushed Ryoga back into the house, waving for Akane to follow. He led them all into the living-room, placing Ryoga in a chair there, taking a seat in the sofa and patting beside him for Akane to join him.

"Why didn't you tell me there's a new gang in town?" Ranma asked Ryoga with a hard stare. Akane sat down next to Ranma, confused at the place they were in and why they were there.

"New gang?" Ryoga started to get some brain cells working again, and focused on Ranma. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the gang that just went for Miss Tendo's throat here… Over at the former factory… They didn't look like locals."

"Well, I haven't heard anything but rumours…"

"Spit out!"

"You'll have to ask nicely first! Besides, you still owe me!"

Akane cut in just then. "Mr Hibiki, please, could you tell us what you've heard..? We need to know what's going on, so I can protect my family. I'm sure we can give you some help back in return, if you give us this info…"

Akane's words were like magic. Ryoga's resistance melted away, he got a puppy-dog look in his eyes, and glanced over at Ranma before he talked to Akane.

"I can't confirm anything, but the rumour is that there's a group from abroad that wants a piece of this corner of town, as a cover for smuggling and other less fun stuff. Supposedly a major cooperation from their homeland, and with politicians on their side."

"…No wonder Nabiki looked worried…" Akane whipped up her cell-phone, and walked to the other side of the room as she called home. Talking quietly into the phone, she paced back and forth.

"What's the deal with her?" Ryoga whispered to Ranma.

"I work with her. She and her sister runs Tendo Enterprises…"

"I knew I'd heard her name before! I've been in their business building downtown once when I was looking for my kitch-… uh… When I was looking for something… The things I saw and heard there… They've got some serious connections and ties with not only the big and important persons… Simply put, they're powerful!" Ryoga whispered impressed.

"Yes, we are…" Akane said to Ryoga. "…and my sister wants more of the kind of information you have, and are willing to be quite generous about it…"

Ryoga looked to Ranma, who held two thumbs up, and shrugged. "What's in it for me?"

"What do you want? If you've heard of my family, you should know what we're capable of fixing." Akane looked proudly at him, holding out her phone. "My sis is on the phone. Talk to her. Ranma, can I have a word?"

Before Ranma could respond, Akane had pulled him out into the hall. "Can we trust him?"

"Sure, Ryoga's word is gold. He has this really bad sense of direction though, so he often stumbles into the weirdest places, but that's the way he gains most of his info. A cell phone might not be stupid for him to have."

"Okay, I'll trust your judgement. You called him an acquaintance…?"

"Eh… well… Remember Jusenkyo..? He got lost on his way to a battle we was supposed to have, and when he didn't show me and pops went to China… and Ryoga followed…"

"What?"

"But you can't tell anyone… He's really embarrassed about it… He fell into Spring of Drowned Black Piglet…"

"Oh… Poor guy… I won't tell. Thanks for trusting me." Akane smiled brightly to Ranma, grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the living room. Ryoga looked like he was in heaven, and grinned broadly to them both.

"You've got yourselves a deal! Your sister said you two could relax now, and she'll take care of some politics. She knew just the men to give the info about the smuggling to… So…would you like some tea?"

"Thanks man, but we better get going. I'm not sure we weren't followed here, so keep your eyes open."

"As always, pal, as always… Take care of that young lady."

"Don't worry, I will."

Akane didn't know if she should be angry at them for talking over her head and treating her like a little girl, or if she should be flattered for their interest in her well-being. By the time she could decide, they were almost back at the car. Just then someone splashed Ranma.

"What the-?"

Someone yanked Akane back by her braid, making her shout out in surprise as she fell on her back. Ranma used his superior speed as a girl to weave and duck out of the way of several swords, knives and bat's, trying to get to Akane. But Akane was getting mad, and the poor man who'd grabbed her hair got the worst thrashing of his miserable life. The other men got nervous at the violence Akane showed, and one of them closed in on her with a knife, trying to aid his fallen buddy.

"Akane!" Ranma screeched. "Watch out"

Akane whisked around, just avoiding the blade aimed for her back, and felt air grace her neck. Looking down beside her she could see her braid on the ground. Thankfully, Ryoga had heard the clatter outside and came running to help Ranma flatten the rest of the men, 'cause Akane just stood still, touching the short uneven tips of hair in the back of her neck. With Ranma furiously beating down the men who tried to hurt Akane, and Ryoga herding them in, it only took a few minutes before both of them stood concerned in front of Akane.

"Miss Tendo? You okay?" Ryoga asked quietly. Akane just looked down.

"Akane..?" Ranma touched her carefully on the arm that was fingering the tips of her cut-off hair, and smiled to her when she looked up. "Hey, are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"My hair…" she sighed.

Ranma just then noticed her long braid lying on the ground, and bent down and picked it up. The thick braid was only held together at the bottom with a black rubber band, the rugged top of it working loose as he held it in his small, female hands.

"I think I should go home now…" Akane said in a monotone voice. She turned to Ryoga. "Thank you for your help." She shook his hand. Taking the car keys back, she drove Ranma back to his apartment in silence.

"You're sure you should drive alone right now?"

"Yes, Ranma, I'm okay. Really, it's only hair, right?" She smiled weakly to him.

"Y-yeah, I guess so. Be careful okay. And call me when you get home, so I know you didn't get lost or something…"

"Baka" Akane mumbled, and drove off. Ranma realised he still held her braid, and as she got into his apartment, he found another rubber band to keep the top of the braid together, and put it in a box he kept in the bottom of his bedroom closet.


	6. Chapter 6

Okay, I'm putting out another chapter, but first I intend to reply to some of the reviews I've got….

_Zolar_: It's not going to get extremely lemony until chapter nine, so until then it'll just be very limey…. Hehe, not the best English ever, but I believe you'll get the gist of it anyway… And I have no intention of getting writers block…! I already know the whole story – it's in my head. The only trouble that could occur is that I don't get the time to sit and actually write it down…: )

_SlickRCBD_: Hey! Thanks for the info, I didn't know that it used to be 'legal' before… As I wrote to Zolar, the real naughty stuff doesn't appear until the ninth chapter… I'm going to put up heavy warnings, and hope it'll be enough to ward off the people who doesn't want to read stuff like that… And I hope that those who _do_ read it, will enjoy it.

_LJoL_: Okay, I removed the 'fake chapters'… You were right, they didn't need to be there anymore, and I've also fixed the confusing 'heshe' things in chapter five… I didn't notice that my forewardslash in between _he_ and _she_ disappeared once I put it out on the net, but you were also right that it was disrupting the story with using both forms… So, I hope it'll be better now… Thanks!

_Gangsta Spanksta_: Yeah, it's really a brief introduction for Ryoga , but I didn't want him to be bitter in this story… He might pop up again later in the story, but so far I just used him to pull in more info about 'Tendo Enterprises'… Sorry you didn't like it, and felt it was too little info about the company, but I'll leave the story just the way it is… Try reading more between the lines, as there really is a big enterprise, but I don't feel the need to introduce several other characters… Call me lazy… : )

_Sourhana_: Glad you like it!

Everyone, enjoy!

**Chapter 6 **

"Hey, Akane!" Ranma ran after a familiar girl in yellow shorts and a white Chinese sleeveless top, jumping in front of her. He looked at the girl, her short, styled hair, the delicate lines of her face, and turned around again. "I'm sorry. Wrong girl." He was just about to walk off as he heard a familiar voice.

"Who are you looking for?"

"A-akane? Is that you?"

"It's better this way, don't you think so? At least they can't grab my hair in combat anymore." She smiled sweetly at him. He stared at her, amazed at how much her hairstyle changed her. In front of him stood a proud, fierce woman – tomboyish, but beautiful. Her short spiky hair framed her face, enhancing her soft chocolate eyes, her cute little nose, the velvet skin, and her bright smile. Ranma felt like he was looking at divinity, struggling to not fall to his knees and praise her.

"You know, I used to have short hair when I was a little girl. But I had a crush on our local chiropractor, and in an attempt to look more like my oldest sister Kasumi I decided to let my hair grow. Silly, isn't it?"

Ranma tried to hide his jealousy, muttering a mantra of 'uncute, unsexy, tomboy' in his head, but it wasn't very effective as he was drinking in her new look.

"It looks good. Suits you." He managed to get out.

"Thank you, that's nice said." She sent another warm smile to him, blushing prettily. "So, are you out shopping?"

"Nah, I was just bored, I haven't had much to do since our last assignment, so I decided to take a trip downtown. What about you?"

"There's a couple of things I need to get, but so far I've just been strolling about. Would you like to join me for an ice-cream?"

"Sure." He said nervously, trotting besides her.

Akane looked at him from the corner of her eyes, her thoughts racing. #He said he liked it! I didn't care about what my father said when I got it cut, nor my sisters or any of my friends, but a nice word from him and my heart races... Mmm… He looks good in that tank top he's wearing. He's so well built… strong and handsome. All the girls we meet are eyeing him. Hah!#

Ranma automatically opened the door to the ice-cream shop for her, and she curtsied mischievously to him.

"Thank you, O bold knight." She giggled.

"My pleasure, fair Lady." Ranma bowed theatrically back, and they laughed as they went to sit at a slightly private table. Looking through the menu, Akane spoke.

"So, you mentioned something about Amazons the other day… Want to talk about it?"

"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten all about that. I guess I can tell you - you're my friend, right?"

"Right!" Akane agreed.

"Let's order first. I need something to lighten the story with…"

"Oh… Hm, I think I'll have a Banana Split…"

"I'll have one too, and a Strawberry Delight and a Sundae Surprise, and maybe the Tokyo Special also." Ranma smiled at the shocked look on Akane's face. "I'm a big boy, so I need more than small girls like you…" he teased.

Akane almost asked how big, but bit her tongue, ignoring the warm look Ranma gave her. She sighed thankfully as their ice creams finally arrived. Diving for her Banana Split, she waved her spoon at Ranma, indicating that he could start talking.

"Okay, okay… After Jusenkyo the guide took me and pop to an Amazon village, and before the guide could warn us, we had eaten of the tribe's first prise in the Fighting competition they held that day. The girl that had won came charging at me, and when the guide explained that it was her prise I thought it would be solved if I beat her. So - in my girl form - I tossed her off the fighting log. She came up and kissed me on the cheek and our guide freaked. The girl had just given me The Kiss of Death, a promise to hunt me down and kill me. We tried to shake her off for weeks. One day we ran into her again, but this time I was in my boy form. As I've said before, I seldom notice if I change, so I reacted automatically and knocked her out. When she woke, she kissed me again, but this time it was The Kiss of Marriage… As far as I could understand the Amazon laws say that if an outsider beat you in combat, you must kill her if it's a girl, and marry him if it's a boy. I tried to explain things, but it was no good. Besides, it was before I met the Gentleman fighter… Now I had her hunting me trying to bring me back to her village as her husband, and soon she had also recruited her ancient great-grandmother, a nasty little witch. There was also a scorned lover involved - this guy named Mousse was head over heals in love with Shampoo, who chased me. Shampoo would show up trying to seduce me all the time, Mousse would always ambush me, but worst was the old goat who knew lots of magic and had centuries of experience. She taught me several techniques, trying to bribe me into going home with her great-granddaughter, but somehow I always managed to slip away. I even beat her in combat once, using C-cat-Fu…"

"You know Cat-Fu?" Akane interrupted. "Isn't that a banned technique?"

"Yeah. But my old man didn't bother to read the manual through until after he'd trained me, and now I have an extreme phobia for all c-cats. If I'm exposed to c-c... felines, I snap and turn into one mentally. I never remember what I've done, but I'm told that I'm incredible fast when I'm in that state, and that my chi takes form as claws, shredding everything…"

"So, what happened when you used Cat-Fu against the old Amazon?"

"I don't know…" Ranma said sadly, fiddling with the rest of his Strawberry Delight. "I woke up several miles away from where I'd been exposed. The only way I snap out of it is if I feel safe, or if my curse is triggered. I haven't heard from the Amazons since, but I hope they just gave up… If you've noticed this scar on my left cheek..?" Akane nodded. "…I got it after that night. It's also the last time I ever saw pop…" Ranma looked down, studying the table cloth. Akane reached over and took his hand, squeezing it lightly.

"Ranma… Nothing of this is your fault… And if I know you right I believe that you just scared the Amazons off. I don't think you'd ever hurt anyone on purpose…" He looked up at her, his eyes shadowed with sadness.

"That's just it, Akane… I don't have control when I'm feline… I never remember anything, how can I believe that I won't hurt people - again…"

"You know what, I'll check up on this Cat-Fu business, and I'll see if I can find some sort of a cure, or at least a way to control it. Does that sound good to you?" She patted his hand reassuringly, wanting to help him so badly.

"Thank you… I've never met anyone who is as nice to me as you are, Akane…" He gripped her hand, studying it. She noticed how small her hands were in comparison to his, and even though hers were rough and strong they were like silk compared to his calloused and scarred hands. She swallowed nervously.

"Uhm… I'd better get going, got to do some shopping before the store closes."

"Oh, okay… Do you want me to walk you there?"

"That's up to you… I don't mind though." She got up and left money on the table for her ice-cream. Ranma tossed out some money too, and walked after her. "Could you get me a copy of anything you find about C-c… you know… the feline-thing..?" Deep in thought he didn't notice a woman trip nearby before it was too late and he got drenched in cold soda. The woman who had splashed him was spluttering out apologies, and looking pretty confused. Akane grabbed him by his now small hand before he could say anything to the flushed woman, and dragged the now redheaded girl out the door and down the street.

"Don't worry, I'll copy everything I can find for you. Now lets go get you cleaned up… That stuff is pretty sticky…" He could hear the laughter in her voice, and it made him feel better.

"Here, you go into this restroom and get cleaned up… Meanwhile, I'll just go into this store and get some stuff I need, okay?"

"Thanks. I hope they've got some hot water in here…" Ranma grumbled.

"Why? Is it that bad to be a girl?" Akane turned to herhim.

"You don't mind?" he looked surprised.

"No, should I? You're still you, aren't you? I don't care, as long as it doesn't change who you are…" she winked at him and went into the store she had indicated. Ranma locked the restroom door after him to get some privacy, and tried to clean out the sugary-stickiness from his now too large clothes. Typically there was no hot water there, but he felt better after a quick wash-off anyway, and even got dried up under the hot-air blower that was for drying your hands.

Walking into the store Akane had vanished into, he asked the woman behind the counter for Akane, describing her. Following the instructions he got, he barged right into the changing-room Akane was in, just as she was trying on some underwear. She was wearing only a small yellow silk-thong and a matching strapless silk-bra, taking off the bra at that moment, and Ranma panicked trying to get back out of the changing room, banging his head in the door in the rush.

"Iiik! A pervert!" Akane screamed as she spun around, holding her arms in front of her naked breasts. "Wha-? Ranma! What are you doing in here! Get out!"

"I'm sorry, Akane!" Ranma tried to find his way back out with his hands covering his eyes, banging into another wall as he tried to explain. "I just asked the sales clerk if she had seen you, and she sent me in here! If I'd known you'd been naked I wouldn't have rushed in here like this! Sorry!"

"Off course she told you where I was, you're still a girl! She couldn't smell you're a boy! Now get out!" She took a hold of his slim shoulders and pushed him hard through the door behind him, making him land on his back on the other side of the store with a crash. He just laid still for a while, listening to the grumbling swearing that came from an enraged Akane.

"Did he call my name first - nooo. Did he ask the clerk what I was doing - nooo. Did he look to see what kind of store he was in - nooo. God damn, where's my fucking bra?"

In spite of the bruise Ranma could feel was forming around his eye and the bumps on his head, he could see the humour in the situation, but the chuckle stopped in his throat as he suddenly realised what he had just seen and done. #Oh, man… Fuck… Tipple-fuck! Oh, well, at least I'm not a guy, so there's no boner to embarrass me even more… Though I probably hadn't been told where she was if I were a guy… Wow, she sure is strong! But I've got a feeling I got off the hook way too easy… Better be careful…#

Akane slammed open the door to her changing room, standing in the opening looking like an angel of vengeance, fixing Ranma with a fierce stare.

"You… you…" she was breathing hard, waving the yellow underwear she'd been trying at him. When she noticed what she was pointing with, she hid it behind her back before she stalked off to the checkout counter, muttering under her breath. Ranma carefully got back on his feet, walking slowly after her. At the counter the clerk seemed terrified of the smouldering Akane, trying to sooth her with small-talk.

"Was the underwear to your satisfaction?" the clerk asked nervously.

"It's fine, I'll take it."

"I see your friend found you." The clerk tried again.

"Yes."

Wanting to get this awful customer go away, the clerk hurriedly packed up the underwear and gave Akane the correct change, practically pushing the things at her. Without a word, Akane turned and left the store. Ranma gave the clerk an apologetic look, and jogged after her.

"Hey! Akane! Wait up!"

Akane froze, turning slowly to Ranma who slowed down as Akane stared at him with a slightly flaming battle-aura.

"You are this close to being punted into the stratosphere." Akane whispered, indicating a quarter of an inch with her thumb and index finger.

"Chill it, will you… I didn't mean to walk in on you like that…"

Akane just turned and walked off. Ranma fell in besides her, trying to cool her down.

"What do you want me to do? I've already got a black eye forming, and you knocked me across the store…"

Akane didn't say anything, but her walk slowed a bit. Feeling lucky, Ranma continued.

"…Besides, it's not like you've got anything to be ashamed of or anything..!" This brought Akane to a full-stop again.

"What do you mean by that!" she demanded, feeling her rage rise again.

"I'm just saying that I can understand that you'd been angry if you'd turned out to be uncute, built like a stick, unsexy, with thighs too thick, flat-chested, sexless, etc…" Akane felt more and more depressed with every word Ranma spoke. "… but you're not, so cool down will ya."

Looking at the small red-head in front of her, Akane felt a storm of confusing feelings battling for control, stretching from joy and rage, to shyness and hysterical laughter. #What's going on here? How can he make me loose control like this? I haven't been this moody since I was 16! And even when he looks like a girl I respond to him as if he was a boy! Well, he is a boy, but I shouldn't feel the way I do when he's a girl too, should I?# Ranma cocked his head, looking up at Akane with a grin. Sighing with defeat, Akane rolled her eyes towards the sky and beckoned for Ranma to follow her.

"Come on, let's get you some hot water. I don't think I can take this kind of a shock twice in one day…"


	7. Chapter 7

First things first… Replies to the reviewers:

_Shaid_: Glad you like it! I haven't written the ending yet, but I'm trying to bribe myself into putting in an hour or two to write more… But, I still have a couple of chapters left to put up before I'm out, so there'll be more… Not to worry… heh, heh, heh…

_SakuraAyanami_: I hope this chapter isn't too cheesy… I'm not as pleased with this one as the last one, but I still hope you'll enjoy it – even though I'm too lazy to change much about it to make it better… Sorry…

_Nonengel_: I'll be mentioning the Amazons later on too, to let everyone know what happened to them, and I'm trying to think of a way to involve Ryoga a bit more too… Hope you'll like it!

_Furiousmonkey_: And I love getting reviews! #Grin# Here's more of the story…

_Zolar_: Thank you for your "blessings"… #laughs# I'm wishing for more free time myself, although I seem to waste it whenever I have it… Oh well… As for the reviews… I know there are things that aren't that great in my story, such as my English… But hey, English isn't my native tongue, so I'm just trying my best here… I know there'll still be mistakes, but I hope everyone gets the gist of it anyway… And I know that there are things in the story that I could do better, but if you only want keep building up my ego into Ranmaish size – then by all means, keep reviewing… #heh, heh, heh# I love getting reviews!

Okay, here's another chapter…. Hope you'll like it!

Enjoy!

**Chapter 7**

Ranma looked at himself in the full-length mirror he'd bought the other day, not quite believing what he saw. After getting his new wardrobe, plus some extra stuff later, he'd put it all in a spare room he had in his apartment, along with this new mirror. It was Akane who'd said he would need it for dressing up, and he'd reluctantly been dragged around 'till they found one that Akane liked. The mirror fitted one of the small walls perfectly, a plain mirror with a masculine decorated frame - just the thing for the bachelorplayboy den. Right now the mirror showed a young, handsome man in a dark western style suit. The white shirt and black jacket fitted nicely, showing off his broad shoulders and extenuating his slim waist and hips. His black pants were comfortable, without any kind of restraints if there would be fighting, so it should be in no danger to be ripped apart by a high-kick. #I bet Akane has made the tailors crazy demanding to make all the clothes fighting-friendly… he he…# The black shoes shone, the leather having been polished that same day. They were surprisingly soft, without any squeaking sounds as he walked around in them in front of the mirror. He felt very dark and dangerous, the only light thing on him being his sparkly white shirt. Even his skin was darkened by the sun, and although he had shaved carefully he still had that rough look because of his dark hair and the scar tissue that was brighter than the rest of his skin. He tugged his shirt nervously and pulled at the jacked, getting enormous butterflies in his stomach at the thought of spending the entire evening in the same room as Akane wearing her flaming cocktail-dress. He'd been on the phone with Nabiki earlier, getting the info on the men they were meeting, and a remark from her had made his heart race.

"You know, Saotome, I've never seen my baby sister being so worked up about something. She's been in a state of panic since yesterday, running around looking for things that she's holding in her hand… And I don't know what you said to her when you two picked up her cocktail-dress, but she hated the thought of wearing the thing before that day… I should know, 'cause I used a week to persuade her."

"Uh… Well, I just told her the truth…" Ranma had squeaked.

"Hmm…Right… Well, thanks, it sure helped. She's a lot more open to my suggestions now than she was before. Just be nice to her, okay? Or I'll make your life hell. See you tonight!" Ranma had stared shocked at the phone for the longest time, torn between excitement at Akane's reaction on him, nervousness for seeing her tonight, and anger at the threatadvice Nabiki had given him.

Looking at his wristwatch, he tugged one final time at his jacket, picked up his cell-phone, wallet and keys and headed out. Locking up behind him, he skipped down the stairs humming slightly. He decided to enjoy the night, feeling better at the thought, and his mood lightened as he managed to get a taxi within a minute. Pulling up to a fashionable restaurant, he paid the driver and strolled in, where he gave his name to the head waiter and was escorted into a beautifully restored room in a late 20's style, with a live big-band and soft lighting.

"Saotome, there you are!" he turned and saw Akane rushing to him, gripping his arm fiercely. "Thank God you're here Ranma, I'm bored to tears!" she whispered conspiratorial to him. "Come, you must meet our business-partners." She continued in a louder voice, pulling him towards a crowd of people on the other side of the room. "Gentlemen, this is Saotome Ranma, a valuable new asset in Tendo Enterprises." Akane introduced him. He nodded to the men in the group; 4 faces he hadn't seen before but could connect with info that Nabiki had given him, and 3 others that he knew by reputation. Nabiki was also in the crowd, looking edible in a short silver creation that looked like it was poured over her body, and there were some girls he presumed had been brought by the men they clung to.

"Good evening, Saotome." Nabiki drawled. "Now that we're all here, maybe we should eat before we move on to the business." As she spoke, waiters came hurrying from the shadows, and soon they were all seated and delicate food was put out for them. Ranma sat with Akane on his right side and a blonde European woman on his left. Nabiki sat at the other side conversing lightly with the men on either side of her. Ranma turned to the blonde as she spoke to him in half-decent Japanese, trying to remember everything the Gentleman fighter had taught him about manners.

"This is the worst wine I've ever tasted! Don't you think so too, Mr Saotome?" she said complainingly, batting her eyelashes at him as she looked him over.

"I'm not that big a vine-expert Miss, but I trust your instincts."

Giggling, the blonde put her hand on his arm, her long red nails digging lightly into the fabric of his jacket. "That is cute, I like you already Mr Saotome…" He tried to smile politely at her, and concentrated on his own meal, ignoring the way the blonde leaned over to give him a peek down her dress. He heard a whisper on his other side and turned to Akane.

"See? This is what I've had to endure for an hour before you came. I was ready to jump out a window to escape the endless chatting about useless servants, great make-up, the latest changes in the stock market, and how 'delicious' I look in this dress… I mean – yuck! Some of these men are older than my father!"

"Well, you do look delicious, but I understand what you mean. I've never been much for conversation about make-up myself." He whispered back, earning a discreet laugh from her.

"Hah..! By the way, the 'lady' on your left side is the latest stage-actress imported, and property to the little-brother of the man with the control… if you get my drift… So you might want to make things look innocent between you…" she whispered, looking at him from the corner of her eye.

"Hey! I'm not the one playing easy here!" he whispered irritated back.

"It doesn't matter. Little-brother will have your balls on a silver plate anyway, he's pretty nervous about competition, and she's licking you with her eyes…"

"Ugh, that's disgusting! How long 'till I can get away from here?"

"Don't worry, stud, just a few hours left tops."

Ranma groaned, earning the attention of the blonde again.

"Oh no, aren't you feeling well? That's what I thought, the food isn't properly prepared. I'm going to let the manager know just how I feel when I get a hold of him." She said in an evil tone.

"No, no, it's just my head. I've felt a head-ache coming all day, and naturally it breaks out now." Ranma felt his fake smile could be spotted by a mile, but the blonde glowed happily back to him. He hoped he could fall back on the head-ache explanation later in the evening also, as a way to get out of conversations or worse.

"Poor you. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" She cocked an eyebrow, making a pretty clear suggestion with her poise. Ranma could feel a hard stare coming from the man on the other side of the blonde, and met the eyes of a weasel-looking man. His angry stare was meant to scare, but Ranma almost laughed. He turned his attention back to the blonde again, deciding to try to avoid trouble for once.

"No thank you, that's sweet, but I think it might help if I just get some food in my stomach." He felt Akane pat him on the knee under the table like a good dog as he turned to his plate again, eating slowly. He managed to avoid getting pulled into any conversation for the rest of the meal, ignoring the lustful looks he got from the women and the glares the men gave him. As the dessert was finished, Nabiki gathered the bosses and sat at a more private table covered with papers and a small lap-top. Akane was dragged off to the dance floor with an older man, and Ranma blamed his head-ache as he thanked no to several of the women wanting to dance with him. He watched Akane being led across the dance floor in between couples, and kept a discreet eye on the rest of the men in the group. He was just admiring how the long split in Akane's dress gave him glances of her long smooth legs as Nabiki came up behind him and bent slightly down, whispering in his ear.

"You better go save my baby-sister now, Saotome, or she'll plaster the poor guy to a wall. I can see her body language screaming, and I doubt it's saying how much she loves the attention she's getting. I'd hate to have to arrange another meeting just because she couldn't control the situation…"

Ranma now noticed the way Akane had turned stiff, and smoothly stood up, nodding to Nabiki before he went up to the dancing couple.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but could I have the next dance?" Ranma broke in. The man started to get red in the face, so Ranma quickly continued before he could erupt. "My boss wanted me to discuss some matters with Miss Tendo here, and it's kind of urgent…" The man calmed down slightly, and with an almost rude bow he walked away. Akane looked up at Ranma and smoothly stepped into his arms as he held them out. The band started a new, slow song, and they glided across the floor.

"So, what did sis want?" Akane interrupted the silence between them.

"Nothing really, she just thought you deserved some rescuing." Ranma changed his grip slightly, pulling her closer. "It looked like you were about to cream the guy."

"Yeah, I guess he was starting to get on my nerves." Akane relaxed and placed her chin against Ranma's chest, letting him lead. "I can handle a fair share of dirty talking, even if it's accompanied with some staring, but he hardly ever looked above my neck, and I could feel his hands aching to grab me. The hand on my back had actually started to dip lower as you came and interrupted him…"

"What! The bastard!" Ranma said hotly, unintentionally crushing Akane harder to him.

"Hey, loosen up will you..! I was prepared to smear him to the floor, but thanks to you I didn't need to…"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You've got to put some more muscle behind it to hurt me, but I think it might look odd for the others if you crunch me to you like that." Akane laughed, looking up at him. "By the way, you look really good tonight. I think all the girls are deeply jealous of me now. It's a good thing you're coming up with such clever excuses. I'm no good with lies."

Ranma admired the way Akane looked in the soft lights, the warmth of her seeping through his clothes. Her hips swayed gently, and he enjoyed the feel of holding her close. He even thought he could faintly smell perfume coming from her, like wild-flowers.

"I didn't exactly lie. The blonde really was giving me a head-ache, and we are talking about that disgusting guy - and he's involved in the business we're here to do tonight, right? So I didn't lie at all."

"Ooh, you're slick." She teased.

They danced in silence, and as the song ended he took her back to the table. Nabiki was gathering her papers putting them in a briefcase and closed the lap-top, waving them over.

"Here, Saotome, you can carry this for me. I believe our business here is concluded, and it's best to get all the papers safely home." She turned to the men she'd been talking with. "Thank you, gentlemen, it's been a pleasure - as always…" With a polite bow and a chilled smile, she turned and beckoned for Ranma and Akane to follow. Ranma grabbed the things he was told to carry, and walked out after Akane.

"You should be glad to hear, little sister, that I've denied to give out your phone number several times this evening. There was even an attempt to bribe me…" Nabiki said coolly as they went outside.

"What? They tried to bribe you?" Akane was irritated.

"Yes, but it was pathetic really. And they couldn't object with the leverage I had." Nabiki allowed herself a gloating smile at the thought. "Saotome, if you would put the briefcase and laptop in the back here." She pointed at the same car she'd used the first time they'd met, and slid into the back seat after Ranma had put away her things. Akane smiled at Ranma before she went in after her sister.

"Bye, Ranma… Have a good night!"

"You too, and be careful..!"

"As always, Ranma. Don't worry, I know how to take care of me and sis - I'm a martial artist too… Do I have to remind you of it all the time?"

"Yeah, at least as long as I can still beat you" He grinned, waving them off as Akane stuck her tongue out at him with her head out of the open window.

**#8#8#**

Akane looked at herself in the mirror in their bathroom before she took off her dress. She wouldn't admit it to her sister, but she was glad Nabiki had chosen this dress for her. The reactions she had gotten thrilled her, but only when it came to Ranma. Before he'd joined them this evening she'd felt awful, the eyes of every man in the room undressing her, but the moment Ranma came she'd felt better. Not only did she enjoy the way his eyes rested on her, but it also kind of sheltered her from the rest of the men's stares. Just like when he'd asked her to dance when that awful old man had started to whisper disgusting suggestions to her. Some aspects of her deal with Nabiki always made her feel dirty, like having to tolerate the foul mouths of the thugs they made business with. She never tolerated anything beyond that, but it felt wonderful to have Ranma coming to her rescue, nevertheless.

Letting the delicate dress slide to the floor, she stood in the yellow silk bra and thong she'd bought the other day when Ranma had barged in on her. #He lets it shine through that he likes me, but I wonder in what way..? And how much do I like him..? I know I've never reacted to any other man the way I react to him, getting all shaky and flowing with adrenaline… I trust him completely, enjoying his company whether he's in his boy form or girl form - but in different ways, 'cause when he's a girl I feel like he's my best friend, and when he's a boy… well… and I feel so proud whenever he trusts me.# Studying the way she looked in the mirror, she turned from side to side, and slowly stripped out of her underwear, finally standing naked. #I wonder what he sees when he looks at me… Does he see the tomboy..? Or a friend maybe, like I'm just one of the guys..? Or does he see what I see - a lonely, young woman…#

Sighing, she put on a yellow cotton pyjamas, carefully hanging her dress on a clothes hanger, and walked back to her room. Hanging the dress so she could see it from her bed, she crawled under the covers and admired it until she fell asleep.

**Ouch, maybe a bit too cheesy on the end there... Oh well, I'll leave it like that for now... **

**And just so it's said - I have nothing against blonde Europeans! Hell, I'm an European myself, and blonde too... Well, dark blonde, but still... No offence intended!**


	8. Chapter 8

Finally! Sorry about the loooong wait, but I've been having some trouble with my shoulder/neck, and was told to lay off the computer for a bit… Anyways, first there's some reviews I want to reply to…

_Shaid_: I've changed the wording like you suggested… Thank you for helping!

_Dennisud_: I'd love to write more fighting in the story, but I don't dare to… I'm not that into the fighting jargon/slang, and would probably just end up destroying the whole chapter with it, and adding in my lack of fighting strategy - it would just suck… Sorry…

_Biyabo: _Glad I've managed to keep your interest! Sorry to say that the whole reason I started this story is because of the lemon in the next chapter, but hey – it's great that I've managed more than I set out to do!

_SakuraAyanami, PPMKatie, furiousmonkey, nonengel, Zolar, seashell, Jace3_ and _JohnnyG_: Thank you all so much for your reviews! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! #grinning-broadly#

Okay, onwards with the story!

Enjoy!

**Chapter 8**

A couple of days went by, and Ranma was hoping to get another job from the Tendo's so he could see Akane again. He was walking into the fight-club late that night, thinking that some training could make him relax enough to let him sleep. As he was starting a kata, his cell-phone rang. Stopping abruptly, he answered it eagerly.

"Saotome…"

"Ranma? Where are you?"

"Akane? I'm at the club, training a bit… Why?"

"Stay there, I'll be right over. I've got news!" she said excitedly.

"Okay… How long 'till you get here?"

"I've parked outside your apartment, so I'll just run over now. See ya!"

Ranma didn't have a chance to say anything before she hung up, so he tried to get back to his kata as he waited for her. He'd just gotten his focus back when she came running in.

"We've found the records for when you and your father left for China!" she exclaimed.

"What! What does that mean!" Ranma had to sit down, realising he'd never expected them to find anything at all, just using this as an excuse to say he'd tried everything before he gave up.

"It means we have a clue to follow! Now we have a place to start searching, a lead to follow back in time! Isn't it great!" Akane radiated with excitement, skipping like a little girl with laughter in her voice. "And I've found something about this Cat-Fu business. I've got the copies in my car, so you can get them later, okay? The main things is that it's outlawed because of the mental damage it inflicts, and when exposed to cats for a long time you turn when the fear gets high enough, and when a person has turned cat they seek out a loved one they trust, looking for the security and safety that you mentioned before… There's some other details also, but you can see it for yourself later." Akane dumped down besides him, smiling brightly. "So, how do you feel? We've actually got a lead! I told you Nabiki's the best!"

Ranma shook his head slowly, feeling dazed. "I can't believe it… I thought it was close to impossible! I can't believe it…"

"Believe it, buddy, we're well on the way to finding your family!"

"Family… wow… that's… -Let's go to your car, I would like to see the rest of the info you found… I'm not gonna get any sleep tonight anyway, so I might as well do something useful." He grinned standing up, and reached down to pull her up also.

"Do you have trouble sleeping?" Akane asked, looking worried.

"Nah, I just have some regular nightmares that wake me up, that's all." He shrugged it off.

"Maybe you should do something - " Akane fell silent as they heard voices approaching, and her face turned white. "Oh no… Kuno!"

"What?" Ranma looked at Akane and could see the panic that was building.

"Please," she whispered intensely. "Help me get out of here without these men recognising me! He can't see me!" She looked wildly around them, dragging Ranma towards the deepest shadows along the walls.

"Hey, take it easy! Don't worry, I'll help you, but there's no need to sneak around."

"Yes there is, you don't know this guy! He's a nut job! A total freak! He's been obsessed with me since I was 15-16 years old! In the beginning he 'only' attacked me everyday, and got every boy at our school to attack me as well. He said he wouldn't allow anyone to date me unless they'd bested me in a fight first. I constantly told him I didn't want anything to do with him, that I didn't like him one bit, but he's got his own twisted fantasy world, and soon his approach got rougher…" Akane was whispering hurriedly, glancing around them. "When I kept refusing him, he ambushed me with a sword, a real fucking samurai sword, and tried to undress me, ranting about how he'd show his love for me. I freaked, but he was so much stronger than me. As he ripped though my blouse my fear was so high I somehow managed to punch him out, and ran for safety. The next day I made my deal with Nabiki; that she'd help me keep him out of my way with cleverly laid problems and to keep a tag on him so I knew where not to go. But tonight that tag has obviously failed."

Ranma was stunned. He felt a deep rage churning, but controlled it as he met her pleading eyes, understanding that she wanted to get away rather than having to meet this psycho again. He could hear the people approaching, about 5 of them by the sound of it, and tried to think of what to do. Akane shrank before him, trembling slightly.

"Akane, let's try the 'groupie' thing again. I'll stand in front of you, and you can hide between me and the wall. We'll make it look like we're just cuddling up, and we'll head for the back door as soon as the coast is clear. But since I've got my back to the room I need you to peak around my shoulder to scan the scene. Okay?"

"Okay." She whispered in a small voice, hiding her head against his chest. He slipped his arms around her, hugging her reassuringly.

"Don't worry, it'll be okay. I'll protect you, no matter what happens." He moved them deeper into the shadows just as the voices entered the room. Akane slipped her hands over his neck, playing with his pigtail. "Good girl." He whispered into her ear, trying to repress a shiver from her touch.

"What a loathsome place my love has lowered herself to enter!" a pompous voice rang in the room. "Surely her glorious being is too good for this place, it must be her evil sister that has forced my precious to go here!"

"Well Mister, it's said that she's come here alone several times. They say she's been flirting with some guys here. Maybe it turns her on or something." Ranma could feel Akane tense up in his arms as they heard the conversation play out behind them. As the weasel that talked about Akane finished up his sentence, they heard a swishing sound.

"One more ill word of my beloved from your mouth, you filthy knave, and I'll have your head for it." Kuno's pompous voice was as warm as a winter night, and no protests was heard. "Now, show me to the leader of this vile place." Their footsteps receded, and Akane peeked over Ranma's shoulder.

"They're heading for the stairs." She whispered into his ear, making a tingle shoot up his spine.

"Let's go!" he said in a low voice, keeping an arm around her in case someone was to look their way. As they reached the door Akane shot a glance back over her shoulder and looked straight into Kuno's eyes as he stood by the stairs.

"Akane, my love!" Kuno bellowed.

"Oh no!" she whimpered, and ran through the door. They could hear Kuno shout behind them, and Ranma pulled Akane with him as they ran for the back door. They stopped momentarily to block the door with some trash cans, but didn't stay to see if it worked.

"He sure sounded like he had serious mental problems!" Ranma yelled to Akane as they ran.

"You don't know the half of it!" She yelled back, keeping an eye on the door behind them as they ran. The trash cans trembled a couple of times before they bounced away, allowing Kuno and his followers to rush through the door. "They're coming!" Akane screeched in a panicked voice.

"Here!" Ranma said, scooping up Akane and leapt onto the rooftops, taking a short cut for his apartment. Akane hid her head to his shoulder, holding on to him for dear life. Behind him they could hear Kuno screaming.

"That foul person is kidnapping my precious flower! Somebody do something! Kill the filthy beast! Anything!"

Ranma easily jumped from roof to roof, soon reaching his apartment building. He jumped down to the entrance, putting Akane carefully down before he dug up his keys, locking them in. He led her up to his place, and locked and bolted the door behind them as they got in. Akane stood trembling on the spot he'd left her, looking lost in her casual jeans and baggy sweater.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ranma spoke in a low voice, lifting up Akane's chin to force her to meet his eyes. Her bottom lip quavered, but before she could speak they heard voices shouting from the streets below. Ranma went over to the living room window, carefully keeping out of sight as he peeked out. He could see several men buzzing about, and one of them was waving a sword indicating the house.

"Damn." Ranma muttered. "If they keep this up, they'll get me thrown out of the building. And I like my apartment." He went back to Akane and gave her his keys. "Here, this one will open the small lock, and this one is for the main lock. Only open up for me if I say 'The mental is gone'… You got that?"

"No… No, no, NO!" Akane was on the verge of a hysteric fit, grabbing hold of Ranma's arm. Ranma carefully loosened her hold on him, swiftly leading her to his couch and forcing her to sit down.

"You just sit here, sweetie, and I'll be right back. I'm a martial artist too, remember?" With a cocky grin he winked at Akane, then after a moments hesitation he bent down and kissed her softly, smiling at her as he stood back up and ran out of the apartment. Akane held a trembling hand to her lips, not believing what he'd just called her and that he'd actually kissed her. #Ohmygod! He kissed me! And he ran out there! Ranma, I'll kill you if you get yourself hurt! Please, come back to me!#

Getting some control back, Akane scrambled to her feet, almost crying with distress as she nervously trotted the floor, using her cell-phone to make a call. #Pick up - pick up - pick up!#

"This had better be good…" With a growling yawn, Nabiki answered the phone.

"Nabiki! Kuno's here! He found me!" Akane almost yelled.

"What!" Suddenly sounding wide awake, Nabiki's voice got a razor edge. "Where are you!"

"I'm at Ranma's apartment. He brought me here, but Kuno somehow followed, and now he's down there with him!"

"Slow down, little sis... You're with Ranma, but he went out to meet Kuno?"

"Yes! Please, you've got to do something!"

"Don't worry, I will. I need to hang up now, but I'll call back later - okay?"

"Thank you, sis..!"

Akane hung up, and walked on shaky legs to the window to see what was happening. She could make out several body's laying scattered, and two people was still fighting - one of them wielding a sword. Holding her breath, she slowly relaxed as she saw how easily the other person avoided the sword attacks, moving with a mocking grace and casualness. This went on for several minutes, and Akane just wanted it to end so Ranma could come back up to her, but still she was fascinated by the control Ranma showed. Suddenly a big dark car pulled up next to the two fighters, and someone was talking to them from the front seat. With a swift kick, the swordsman was sent sailing into the car, the crashing sound loud enough for Akane to hear it in the apartment. Two men jumped out from the front of the car and picked up the rest of the body's, throwing them into the backseat and luggage room. The fighter that was still standing talked briefly with the men before he turned and walked into the building, and the car soon drove off. Akane quickly went over to the entrance door, fetching the keys, and opened the door just as Ranma stepped up to it.

"I said you shouldn't open unless- Ouff!" Akane threw herself onto him, cutting off the tirade Ranma had started. With a soft look in his eyes, he guided them both into the apartment. He tried to pry her off again, but to no avail. Akane shook harder than ever, and suddenly started crying with deep sobs.

"Hey, it's okay now. He's gone… Your sister sent someone to pick up him and his gang, and you wont be troubled by him again. You should have heard some of the things that boy ranted about - geez…" He kept stroking her back slowly, letting her cry out against his chest. "Listen, sweetie, why don't you take a nice, long shower...? It'll make you feel better, I promise. Have you ever tried a western shower before?" He felt her shake her head, sniffing loudly. "Well, now's your chance, I happen to have a nice western shower here." Picking her up, he carried her out of the living room and through the apartment to the bathroom. He put her carefully down, and she stood silently watching him as he explained how to use the taps, and put out some large towels for her. "Now, just use your time, and let the hot water work it's magic." He smiled at her before he left the room. His cell phone started to ring at that moment, and he answered it quickly.

"Saotome." He almost barked.

"It's Nabiki. How's my sister?"

"She's a wreck. I've put her in the bathroom now with the orders to take a long, hot shower, and I hope it'll help her out of the shock she got tonight. Would you care to explain what the hell this was all about!"

Nabiki breathed out slowly, obviously relaxing with Ranma's words, and told the short-version of the 'Kuno-case'. "He's dangerous, Ranma… He spent a year playing with my sis before he snapped from her continuous rejections. I'm sorry to say I sold pictures of her to him, but I had no idea-… I wish I'd known, and I would have made sure to take the necessary steps sooner... Anyway, sis had to fight her way into school every day thanks to him and his stupid declaration that no one could date her unless they had beaten her in combat. She levelled the guys, of course, but none of them were any good except Kuno, and he let her win for a year before he sprung the surprise. She was in bad shape for days afterwards… The shock of the knowledge that she never really had a chance against him coupled with the attempted rape left her confidence shredded in the dirt, and I had to use lots of recourses to keep him out of her way for the next weeks. Luckily I managed to get him going on a wild goose chase, and by the time he returned I'd hired the first in a line of mentors for Akane. She slowly got better, both mentally and physically, but she still used butt-ugly clothes as a defence against guys outside of work… until she met you… Somehow, she trusts you, Saotome…"

Ranma had dumped down on his couch during Nabiki's explanation, and he kept clenching and un-clenching his fist, wishing he could pound Kuno for another hour or five. "What are you going to do with him now..?"

"The problem is that the Kuno family has big money backing them up. I've tried to pull some strings to lock him up, or force him to have a mental evaluation, but they buy their way out of just about everything… This time I've arranged for a big Kuno-sized crate to be dropped over the North-pole, and knowing there's no planes scheduled to go there for several weeks I hope it'll give my baby sister some needed rest."

"Okay. I'd better start training her then."

"You? Yes, I guess that would be a good idea… No, make that great. I've got to take care of the transportation now, Saotome. I owe you one… We owe you one… Tell sis I've taken care of things, okay?"

"I'll do that. Good night…" Ranma put down the cell phone and leaned back into the couch, listening to the shower running. His eyelids lowered as the minutes went by, and before Akane stepped out of the shower he was fast asleep.

**Heh, heh, heh... Now guess what's up next... I'll give you a hint: It's round, like an orange, but yellow, and makes your mouth water...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, I'm reposting this chapter… Thank you to all of you who've already reviewed the chapter, and thanks for the advise several of you gave… And you're right, so I'm heeding your advice, and have put the full lemony version on Mediaminer(dot)org…**

**This is the CENSORED version now… If you want the whole thing, including the lemons, you've got to go to the link I've put up in my profile…**

Reviewers replies…:

_Shaid_: I'd like to know what mistakes you spotted in the last chapter, so I can correct it… Please? Anywayz, glad you liked the chapter… ;)

_Law-kun_: The opening chapter was too long and bulky? How so? Do you have any suggestions on how I could improve/fix it?

_Martrex_: Grapefruit? Noooo… Lemons! Yey for lemons! I'll do my best with your wishes… Glad you like my story…:)

_Biyabo_: Chill, chill…! The full lemon is now on Mediaminer(dot)org! Jeez… #giggles# But maybe you still would like to write your own version of it? What would you have written? Yeah, I know I kind of went overboard on Akane, but it happens sometimes when I just let the story flow without thinking it through first… Oh well, I'll probably stillkeep it like that…

_Zolar_: Hey there! Thanks for caring, or pretending nicely to care anyway… #grin# My neck/shoulder isn't quite okay yet, but it's getting there… Glad you liked my Kuno portrait… I actually liked the way I changed him without changing him… If you get what I mean… And lemons always makes my mouth water… Both the written and the fruit versions… Heh, heh, heh…

_Dragon Man 180_: Thank you! Bringing on the lemon on Mediaminer(dot)org… Let me know what you think… Please… :)

_Fluffyisgood_: Yey! Glad you like it! Just letting my fantasy have some playground here…

_PPMKatie_: Tingly? Do you mean what a lemon feels like? As I wrote to Zolar, lemons always makes my mouth water, whatever form they're in (written, or as fruits..). #grin#

_Furiousmonkey_, _Lisa Grey_, _SakuraAyanami_, and _JohnnyG_: Thank you all for letting me know that you think I'm doing okay with my story… And I'll keep writing…

…

Hope I cut out enough of the story so that no one is offended, while I don't totally kill the story… Let me know, please…!

So…

Enjoy!

**Chapter 9**

Akane enjoyed the unfamiliar feeling of warm water cascading over her, letting it massage the stress out of her muscles. Curiously she looked around the bathroom, noticing the absence of a female touch, the few essentials that were displayed, and the 'just-moved-in' look of it all. Standing under the shower for what must have been almost half an hour, she finally turned the soothing water off and stepped out in front of the mirror above the sink. Using one of the big fluffy towels, she slowly dried herself, wrapping the other one around her body. #What am I thinking..! Even though he called me 'Sweetie' and kissed me, it doesn't mean he _loves_ me… And why should it matter if he loves me or not..? Do I _want_ him to love me? Could _I_ be in love with _him_?# Loaning the brush that was on the sink, she brushed her hair back from her face, studying her eyes, looking for some kind of divine sign. #Maybe it's time to be brave and take the first step… The worst thing that could happen is that I'll get embarrassed, and that's happened several times since I first got to know him. But I'm risking our friendship… Still, didn't he risk it first by kissing me?# Giving herself an encouraging look and a firm nod, she silently walked out of the bathroom with only the towel wrapped around her. Looking into the living room she saw Ranma sitting and sleeping in a corner of his couch. He obviously had another nightmare as he was tossing his head from side to side, muttering. As she closed in on him she could hear certain words.

"…No…Daddy…Please…C-c-cats…Don't…Please…Help me…"

Akane could feel her heart breaking at the fear those words radiated, and quickly went over to him with the intention to wake him up. She shook his arm, but before she could utter a single word she was on her back on the couch with Ranma on top of her, his eyes wild and staring, his breathing laboured. Holding her arms above her head, his eyes slowly cleared, and she could see him take in the situation.

"A-akane… Don't do that! You shouldn't have done that! I could have hurt you!"

Akane pulled one of her hands loose from his grip and tentatively touched his unshaved cheek, tracing his scar. "I trust you, Ranma. You wouldn't hurt me, you wouldn't attack anyone unless you know who they are…" She could feel him tremble above her, his hard body pressing her down into the couch, and his eyes closed for a moment. As he opened them again, they were a stormy sea of emotions.

"Do you know what you're doing to me? What it does to me when you do simple things like that?" he said in a hoarse voice.

Shaking her head slowly, she said. "I'm not sure. Why don't you tell me…?"

With a defeated groan, he caught her lips in a rough kiss. Akane gasped, unintentionally opening her mouth so that Ranma's tongue could slip inside. Her heart pounded as she touched her tongue to his, tasting him, and her free hand slipped around to his neck, grabbing a hold of his pigtail. After a few moments, she started experimenting with responses to his kiss, sucking on his lips, tracing his teeth with her tongue, teasing him with butterfly-kisses. Ranma moved his mouth to her jaw and down to her neck, half kissing and half nibbling, making chills rush up and down her spine, and goose bumps form on her skin. At the top of the towel she wore he traced the lining with wet kisses, pausing at the flick that held the towel up. She felt herself getting tense, her mind going to bad experiences she'd had, and Ranma looked up at her.

"Akane…" His voice was deep and rumbling, and in spite of her fear it was intoxicatingly arousing. "I really want you, so badly… But just say the word, and I'll stop… I won't do a thing if you say no …"

Akane looked him in the eyes, seeing a deep need there, a desire for her and nobody else, and relaxed. She knew she wanted this, needed it as much as he did, and she trusted him to never scare her. She broke into a radiating smile, unknowingly pouring chi into it, making Ranma shake with the feelings she flooded him with, and pulled loose her other arm so she could use them both to pull him down for another deep kiss.

"Ranma…" she mumbled as he closed in on her. "…I want you too…" Kissing him deeply, letting the emotions swallow her up, she hardly noticed that Ranma swept her up into his arms, but she felt the cool covers on his bed as he laid her down and she realised he'd taken her into his bedroom. Momentarily breaking away from her to pull off his shirt, he tossed it to the floor, and crawled over to her. He started kissing her again, letting her decide the tempo as she slowly explored his torso with her hands.

Ranma didn't know how long he could stay in control. He'd already thought he'd lost it once, on the couch in the living room. Akane had been too great a temptation for him after the same old nightmare, and he'd lost himself in her sweetness, eagerly taking all he could get. When he'd felt her body stiffen under him, he somehow managed to pull his self-control back up, not wanting to ever hurt her in any way, and tried to word the feelings that rushed him. He still had a shred of control left, even after she offered herself to him, and he felt confident that he could stop this the second she said no. But he hoped she wouldn't stop this, 'cause he was feeling great! She somehow pulsed with emotions, her chi radiating, making him feel her joy and arousal, and he wanted more of her, more of how she made him feel.

**Okay, this is where the first lemon was, so just know that they're… making love…**

…

"Wow! I didn't know it would be like that..! I'm still trembling…" she breathed.

"Mmm… I liked it too… A lot…" Ranma smiled and looked at her with proprietarily air, running his fingers through her damp hair. "You really are beautiful, you know…"

Akane blushed, but awarded him with a glittering smile, kissing him deeply. She kneaded his shoulder muscles, delighting in the feeling of them rippling against her hands. Drawing back a bit, she looked at him, taking in his dark body gleaming with sweat, his powerful arms a lot more muscled than any other she'd seen, his broad chest hard and scarred – his skin stretched tight over it. His washboard stomach had a trail of hair from his navel down into the curly hair around his now soft member, and his long legs and slim hips didn't have nearly as many scars as his torso, although there were more scars there than what was normal. She could se many slim, claw-like stripes on him, and realised they were from his Cat-Fu training.

"Ranma, can I ask you something..?" He just looked at her and smiled, and so she continued. "When you told me about the Amazons you sounded like you thought you'd hurt them, but now you're looking for your parents… Don't you think you hurt your dad - who did all those terrible things to you?" Ranma's smile had disappeared, but he didn't draw back from her. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to." She quickly added.

"No, it's okay… You're one of the few I've met who I can actually talk to…" Ranma smiled again, but the smile didn't really reach his eyes. He started to stroke her arms and back, and with a low voice he tried to explain. "You see… At first I thought I'd killed them all… After all, this c-c-Cat-Fu thing is supposed to be a dangerous fighting style - not only for those who learn it, but for those exposed also. I had all these confused feelings when I thought of my pop. I kind of wanted to believe I'd killed him, but still - he's my pop, you know… But anyways, last year some time I met someone who'd seen my old man… Her name is Ukyo, and I knew her when I was a little kid. Back then I thought she was a boy and a friend, but obviously my old man had promised her dad that he'd take her along as my fiancée in return for their cart or something… But, my disgusting old man left Ukyo behind, and that brought great shame onto her family. She'd always lived as a boy, as her father needed a son more than a daughter, and she'd searched for us ever since to get her revenge. Well, she found my father first. Almost beat the crap out of him, but before he passed out he'd told her about me. About where to find me. He actually knew where I was. So she went after me, and tried to beat me up too, something she wasn't very successful with… I was so shocked when she told me who she was, and the shock only intensified when she told me she'd met my old man. She'd found me in one of those shabby fighting arenas in China, and accidentally found out about my curse also. She totally freaked, and told me she'd never want to marry me, that there would be a greater disgrace in going through with the agreement between our parents than to just take it out in blood even without getting her kill… I was in shock already, and before I knew it she'd swung this giant battle-spatula at me. The pain of being sliced pulled me back to reality, and I ran for it, somehow getting away." Ranma pointed to a long, broad scar running under his ribs on one side of his torso and towards his back. "It took me a couple of hours with a lot of thinking before I decided what to do next. She'd said she'd run into him in Japan, so that's where I wanted to go. If he knew where I was but didn't go after me, then there was something fishy going on, maybe even something about my mom … Well, you know the rest…" Ranma looked at Akane, nervous to see her reaction to his tale. He knew she never reacted to things the way other people did, and he wondered how she'd take this reminder of the curse. #Please…# His train of thoughts got interrupted as Akane grabbed a hold of him and pulled herself close to him. She held him tightly, and whispered into his ear.

"Oh Ranma… None of it is your fault..! You couldn't have known about the deal..!" Ranma buried his face into her hair, drawing in a shuddering breath and held her as he'd never let her go.

"She didn't want me… My father doesn't want me… Nobody wants me…" Before he could stop himself, his words had slipped out, and he felt incredibly vulnerable.

"Ranma, that's no true! And you shouldn't put so much into what your stupid father does, or what a girl with revenge in her mind thinks. Besides, I… I…" Ranma pulled back, looking at her with big eyes. He saw her blush shyly as she looked at her fingers tracing his chest muscles and mumbled something he barely could hear. "…I still want you…" The silent words had a tremendous effect on him. Feeling the need for her explode within him again, he held her chin with one hand, and kissed her hungrily. The way she melted against him, moaning willingly, only intensified the fires. #She wants me, she still wants me! Even with… Oh, I need her, now! She's mine!#

**And here there were another lemony moment… of lovemaking… **

**And thus, Akane and Ranma fell asleep in each others arms…**

**Did the story survive the cutting?**


	10. Chapter 10

And I'm back again!

Replies for the reviewers;

_borg rabbit_, _Delta-Theta_, _firebird2083_, _Brother Angelon_ - Thank you all for getting my mind under control... You were all right, I should have just censored the last chapter at once... Thank you for tipsing me, I think I did it fast enough to avoid any bad feelings, and not getting thrown out... : )

_Dragon man 180_, _Jonakhensu_ - I know you both requested female-female sex, but I'm not all that sure that I'll write that... I see what you mean, and I will probably write some kissin'n'hugging in both forms, but I don't feel that Akane need to "prove" she likes him either way like that... The way I think of it, is that it isn't sure that Ranma himself would be all that confident about being with Akane in his female form, but if it's going to happen, then I'll probably let Ranma start the show... We'll just have to wait and see... : )

_Martrex_ - Hey, are you calling me a pervert? lol Well, I guess you're absolutely right about that one... grins

_Biyabo_ - You're not just saying that I wrote it better than you had planned to..: ) Heh, heh... And now I've reposted Wounded on MediaMiner . org too, now with lots of spacing to make it easier to read!

_dennisud_ - About those 3 little words... I read somewhere that in japanese manga they seldom used the three words, and instead let the feelings show through actions... Well, I'm more like that myself. Words are easy to say (at least, some people around me seem to say words easily enough, without meaning any of it), but actions seldom lie... Just keep on reading, and we'll see what happens...

_ShPhoenix_, _AntiSclAngel_, _Cherryblossom-crystal_, _colin_, _michelle_ - I know it wasn't the same thing in the cut version, and that it might be a bit halting, but it was the best I could think of... I didn't want to write something entirely different, and since the chapter had been written about 6 months ago (or more) I just wanted to keep it as similar to the full version as possible... After all, the lemon was supposed to be a part of what drove the story... Oh well, I guess it still survives, if not brilliantly...

_Daouid_ - Are you psychic or something? Wow... You know, all that I've put out so far is things I wrote up to two years ago, and not this chapter, but the next one, I finished well over 6 months ago... So it almost creeps me out when you question things that I've used as part of the chaos and drive in the story to come... As for using "Sweetie" in stead of "Tomboy" is just something that felt natural as I was writing it... I like the "Tomboy" too, so we'll see if I might sneak it in later on...

_Zolar_ - Who's the biggest pervert of the writer or the readers...? Well, I know for a fact that I can be quite the pervert, so the question is how big a pervert the readers are for liking what I write... grins

_majinbuu7985_, _deafturtle_, _JohnnyG_, _Rouge With A Blade_, _King of Chaos_, _SakuraAyanami, PPMKatie_, _Lov3the3vil_, _furiousmonkey_, _sourhana_ - Thank you all of you! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! Hope you'll like the rest of the story too!

Okay, then there's another little chapter... Sadly, this one is **_censored_** too, but I've tried to make this one smoother...

The full version is on MediaMiner(dot)org, or you can go on my profile and find the link there...

Enjoy!

**Chapter 10**

Slowly opening his eyes, Ranma felt slightly disoriented as he woke up, his mind filled with mixed feelings and memories from the night. #Wow. Did we really..?# He quickly glanced around, seeing no one else in the sun-filled bedroom with him, but could see evidence of a person having slept next to him. Drawing in a deep breath, he let the scent from Akane wash over him. He strained his ears, and could detect the sounds of his shower running. Smiling naughtily, with equally naughty thoughts crowding his brain, he got up from the bed without bothering with his clothes, and quickly headed for the bathroom.

Akane was letting the water wake her up properly. Lifting her face to the warm water, she took delight in her newfound self-esteem, letting her hands slowly glide over her body as she recalled how Ranma had touched her the night before. #Ohmygod!# she squealed in her mind. #Ohmygod! We had sex..! Great sex! That had to be the best thing ever invented!# She blushed as she remembered her favourite parts, which there were plenty of, and she could feel herself heating up again.

"Akane, get your mind out of the gutter! Haven't you had enough already!" She scolded herself, rubbing her face vigorously with her hands. She barely had the time to register the cool draft as the cabinet doors opened, before two strong arms snaked around her from behind, and Ranma's warm voice purred in her ear,

"Mmm, I really hope you haven't…"

Akane squealed as she spun around, facing Ranma. He grinned broadly at her, dipping in to plant kisses on her neck and shoulders, and Akane found herself wondering what to do. On one hand she felt herself slipping into his promised warmth, her body calling out to him, but on the other hand she wasn't sure if this was the smartest thing to do now that the light of day made her question his motives.

"…'cause I've got plans for you, sweetie…" Ranma continued.

"Oh?" Akane questioned breathless. "What kind of plans?" She blushed as Ranma pushed her back against the cold walls of the shower cabinet, pressing himself tightly against her front as he stared hungrily at her, grinning at her attempt at trying to regain her control. Akane cursed her treacherous arms as they slipped around him, looking up at him with big, dark eyes. Wetting her lips, she pushed up against Ranma and kissed him softly in an attempt to rid him of his smirk, ignoring the stern voice in the back of her head that said this was the wrong way to go if she was trying to get out of the situation. The voice weakened as Ranma pressed even more against her.

"Well," he breathed, drawing slightly back to free his mouth, "I was hoping to tempt you to spend the day with me..? I could show you the rest of my apartment also, not just the bedroom, and I'm a decent cook, so I can treat you to a nutritious breakfast...? What do you say, Akane… Stay with me?" His last question seemed to have a deeper meaning to her, but even if it didn't she couldn't stop her head from nodding an affirmative. As he moved in on her again, his hands getting more eager and his lips tracing her jaw-line, she welcomed him with her own needs.

**Censored part used to be here… More tender love-making, and unspoken claims laid out.**

"So… What do you want for breakfast?" He asked her with a very male, very satisfied smile, letting one of his hands cup her chin as the other rested on the small of her back.

Ranma hummed happily, placing the warm meal out on the kitchen table as his thoughts lingered on Akane. He felt so complete, and smiled brightly as Akane stepped into the kitchen wearing his bathrobe.

"Hmm, you look good in that." He complimented her. "Of course, I think you look good in just about anything…" Akane blushed and peaked shyly at him through her bangs, smiling cutely.

"Thanks. Well, this smells good… Where should I sit?"

"Oh, just grab a chair, I'll take the other one. You want milk, warm tea or ice-tea? I've got some other things too." He watched her as she sat down at the table, feeling how right it all was.

"Um, I'll just have some warm tea, thanks." Ranma took the seat across from her as he poured them some tea, and soon they both relaxed and talked about everything and nothing at all as they ate. When they were both filled up Ranma took Akane by the hand and led her out into his living-room, and to the couch he'd fallen asleep on the previous night. He pulled her down onto his lap, smiling brightly as she cuddled up to him, relaxing immediately. For a long while they both were silent, just touching each other lightly and enjoying being together.

"You know, I didn't even hope for this to happen when I first met you, although I've never reacted so strongly to anybody in my hole life." Ranma suddenly said silently. Akane raised her face to look closely at him, trying to figure out what exactly he meant.

"What do you mean?" she timidly asked, studying one of his large hands closely by holding it in her own hands and turning it back and forth.

"I mean… I never thought I'd ever find someone… for me…Especially since you're the only one I've ever wanted. Women never interested me, but at the first smile you gave me you broke through something inside of me, a wall I didn't know I had." He calmly tried to explain it, breathing deeply in the scent of her hair.

"Really?" Akane grinned happily, making herself comfortable against him. "You're the first guy I've ever wanted to step closer to, in stead of getting away from." She confessed shyly. Ranma smiled triumphantly, hugging her closer to him, and gave her a quick kiss.

"I hope it stays that way. I just… it just feels like…" Ranma hesitated, unsure of how to put his feelings and thoughts. Playing with her fingers, he hoped she wouldn't get mad at him, and plunged into an attempt at explaining how he felt. "I like the fact that I'm your first, and hopefully only one – you know what I mean… And there's this feeling inside of me… that you're mine." He held up a hand as he saw her eyes narrowing, and rushed on. "I can't help it, I want you to be mine, and I hope you want to be mine as well… I know that I'm yours, as long as you want me, and even if you don't want me I'll never be anybody else's…" Akane's eyes grew from narrow to dinner-plate sizes, and her mouth hung open in surprise. Ranma could see emotions fight across her face, recognising joy and irritation along with shyness and uncertainty. He froze as he didn't know what to say or do until he'd gotten a spoken reaction from her. Akane stared intently at Ranma, seeing him freeze up, and kissed him firmly.

"I thought I'd told you already, I want you Ranma…I just never dreamt that I'd have the chance at having you…" her voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm yours if you really want me, just… don't hurt me." Ranma slowly wrapped her up in his arms, holding her almost crushingly as his heart thundered.

"I'd never hurt you, sweetie, not intentionally anyways..! And I'll make sure no one else ever gets to hurt you either." Akane heard the underlying steel in his voice, and knew he thought about Kuno. Still it made her feel safe more than anything else, and she kind of liked the thought of him wanting to protect her.

"Thank you, Ranma. In return, I'll never hurt you either."

"Um, does this mean… that we're a couple now?" Ranma grinned like a little boy, releasing her and sitting more upright in the couch.

"If you want to... then yeah, I guess so." Akane blushed at the twinkling in his eyes, feeling like a nervous teenager again.

"YES!" Ranma roared, jumping up from the couch so that Akane fell back into it, and he continued jumping around the room waving his fists in the air while shouting. "Yes! Yes! YEAH!" Akane started giggling, and broke into full-blown heartfelt laughter as Ranma leapt over to her and grabbed her, spinning them both around and around.

"Ranma! Put me down! I'm getting dizzy!" She ordered laughingly.

"Never!" Ranma answered, but stopped his twirling. In stead he started to kiss her deeply, and things would probably have ended up with a certain way of celebration if Akane's cell phone hadn't started ringing. She broke off the intoxicating kisses and stared curiously at her phone, seeing Nabiki's name flash on it.

"Nabiki?" Akane answered the phone. "Hey… No, I'm okay... What? …Oh, I totally forgot! I'm coming as quickly as I can! …Thanks!"

"What was that all about?" Ranma asked her as she turned back to him.

"I have classes at the dojo today! I totally forgot! I need to go back home to take care of things." Akane could tell that Ranma didn't like the idea, but she smiled and took his hand. "Come on, you're coming with me. You said you wanted to see it, and here's your chance. Besides, I promised to stay with you today, and this way I'm still with you…" Ranma melted at her sunny smile, and followed her, getting ready to leave in record time.

**I know it was a bit short, but the next one will be a bit longer - promise...**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hehey! I'm back again... #biggrin#**

**No lemon this time... Hope you'll survive without it... #lol#**

_furiousmonkey_ - Thanks! Always nice to get a confidence-boost!

_Lisa Grey_ - A comment is always good! Let's me know people actually read this stuff I'm writing... #grin# I just hope that I'll be able to finish the story without loosing "my touch"...

_Dragon Man 180_ - Well, we'll never know if this is what would have happened, but it's one of the versions that's playing out in my brain... And I like it enough to write it down. Glad you like it!

_JohnnyG_ - I'm trying, I'm trying...! #laughs#

_shaid_ - And here's the update!

_Lov3the3vil_ - I'm a sucker for such positive reviews! Thanks!

_Biyabo_ - #grins# You don't like tight censorship..? Have you practised writing any lemons lately...?

_firebird2083_ - Soun will make a small appearance in chapter 12, but I guess the "gasket-blowing" will happen even later on...

_Brother Angelon_ - I'm actually not sure about what to do about Kuno... Not yet, anyway... But, my trusty braincells will eventually come up with something..!

_Jonakhensu_ - I hope I'll manage to portrait Nodoka good enough, since I haven't read any Ranma 1/2 with her in it (I turned to fanfics instead), but since the others are so completely OOCI guess it won't be so bad if she's changed too...

_SakuraAyanami_ - Hope you'll still be grinning after this chapter too...!

_PPMKatie_ - I'm trying to put up links in my profile, but I don't think MediaMiner and Fanfic like me much, since I'm having such trouble doing it properly...

_wytecastl_ - I'm trying to put up proper links, I really am... They just don't work the way I want them to...! I think/hope I've managed it now, but if not, I'll try again... And again... And again... Heh, heh... You get my drift...

_Zolar_ - As a human being, you're entitled to decide for yourself if you want to use your time writing reviews... But I always enjoy getting compliments!

**Now, onwards with the story!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 11**

Ranma looked curiously around in the dojo, still feeling slightly awed at the size of the property and the obvious success radiating off of it. He had waited a couple of minutes before he got out of the car when Akane had parked out in front of the houses, but he felt more at ease now than earlier, sitting down by the walls in the dojo watching Akane lead her class through a kata. Kasumi – Nabiki and Akane's older sister – had supplied him with tea and cookies, and he was now enjoying the sight of _his_ girl moving strongly and elegantly, her muscles stretching and flexing as she went through the motions. His eyes lingered on her while his mind replayed the more intimate details of her, and he almost laughed as Akane blushed heavily every time she glanced over at him. This class was the last one for the day, and Ranma felt proud over the way she'd handled them – three classes in total that met two times a week. She probably could have even more classes, but he knew she felt she had to help Nabiki, and therefore settled with this as practise until the day she'd realise her dream of living off the dojo alone.

As Akane dismissed the class, three boys about her age stayed behind, standing close enough to Ranma for him to overhear their conversation.

"What has happened to her? I mean, she just glowed today." One of them mumbled.

"Yeah… She's always been cute – the main reason I take this class – but today she's… yummy…" another grinned.

"Today's my day." The third boy stated boldly. "I'm going to take her out and get her to bed by the end of the day."

Ranma had been grinning while he listened to the boys, but at the bold declaration from the last one his mood shifted dramatically. Unfortunately for them they didn't see him behind them as they made their way towards Akane, who were helping a young girl stretching. Ranma jumped up and came up behind them just as the optimistic one opened his mouth.

"Hello Sensei… Akane… "

Akane raised her eyebrow at being addressed so casually, and almost flinched when she caught a glimpse of Ranma's face as he came up behind the boys in front of her. With him so close she felt more relaxed, and turned her attention coolly to the boy that were trying to pretend he wasn't looking below her face.

"…Yes?"

"Listen, there's this great place downtown, where they have nice food and a cool dancing-spot. I was thinking, around 7 this evening?" The boy smirked down at her, his two friends almost clapping him on the back. Before Akane could respond Ranma slid around the boys and pulled her close to him.

"Hmm… Honey, that sounds like an idea. Maybe we should go out tonight? But first, you promised me a tour of your house." Ranma made sure that the boys could see the hand he put on her back, as he slid it down and rested it lightly on her rounded behind, holding her in place up against his front. He smiled when she blushed, and ignored the spluttering from the boys as he bent down and gave her a firm, hard kiss. #You're MINE, remember…#

"Hey, you can't just grab onto our teacher like that! We were here first!" one of the boys protested. Ranma slowly ended the kiss, feeling his heart race from the way Akane had melted up against him, and turned with a broad grin towards the group.

"Sorry kids, but she's taken." He drawled out, accentuating the statement with another kiss with Akane, who put her arms around his neck and clung to him.

"No way! We challenge you for the right to have her!" The boys stood back, each taking on a fighting stance. The words however had awoken Akane from her bliss, and she tried to turn to them to beat them into submission. She halted when Ranma placed a finger to her chin, guiding her face so their eyes met.

"They challenged me, not you." He said quietly, then bent down and whispered in her ear, "I love you." Akane gasped, her eyes filling with tears, and she flung herself at him, kissing him with all the passion she could muster. Then she stepped away from him, grinning at his flustered look, and calmly went to sit by the wall, dragging with her the confused girl she'd helped earlier so she could get out to her waiting parents. #W-O-W!# Was Ranma's first coherent thought. #She sure knows how to get a guy motivated to fight for her!# He snapped back into attention as all three of they boys charged at him, screaming their battle-cry's. Ranma felt good, with total confidence in himself, and decided to play around for a while. The boys didn't realise he just made fun of them until they heard Akane's light laughter as they all were tossed around the room several times over. Angered, they tried using dirty tricks to get him, but soon realised they wouldn't breathe for a second longer if Ranma stopped holding back. The one that had 'asked out' Akane landed roughly next to her after a vicious punch from Ranma, and turned to her with a burning stare.

"I'll have you, somehow." He gritted out, lounging for her. Akane easily avoided him, but suddenly Ranma stood before her, holding the boy up by his throat.

"You try to touch her again, and I'll make you scream for death to come and release you from the pain I'll inflict on you…" Ranma almost whispered, but everyone in the room heard him clear as day. The boy's two friends tried to crawl further away from their positions on the floor, sweating from the pain from bruised ribs and battered muscles, eyes large as they took in the scene with their friend trying to get loose from the suffocating throat-grip without even making Ranma's arm sway. Ranma then threw him on top of the two others, and without another word guided a stunned Akane out of the room.

"Sorry about that, honey… I just lost it for a second there…" Ranma shuffled his feet, hoping Akane wasn't appalled at his behaviour. She'd been quiet the whole time as they'd walked out to the gate to make sure everyone got home, and were standing at the gate after seeing the last boys leave.

"Ranma…" she whispered. "Did you mean it? What you said before?" Surprised, he raised his head to meet her firm gaze, taking a minute trying to understand what she meant.

"Um… Yeah? I just…" Ranma didn't know what to say. #Didn't she like it after all? Doesn't she want me to love her? Did the loss of control now make me loose her too! Is she afraid of me now!# He took a step closer to her, feeling desperate, and reached for her hands. Her eyes were filled with tears, and he wanted to kill himself for it, and without controlling himself he grabbed a tight hold on her, afraid of what she might say. "Please..! Please, I couldn't help it…"

"Ranma… Listen to me!" His heart clenched painfully, and with immense will-power he made himself let go of her and slid to the ground in front of her, shaking with fear of loosing yet another important person in his life. Akane put her hands to his face and forced him to turn up to meet her eyes, talking softly to him.

"Will you listen! I love you too! Don't jump to conclusions. I love you! I love you with everything I have, every part of my body, soul and mind…" Ranma froze, the void of pain inside of him filling up with gentle warmth and soothing touches from Akane. He could see love softening her dark eyes, and feeling weak like a newborn puppy he couldn't get to his feet. Instead he rested his head to her stomach, wrapping his arms around her again as he felt her stroke his hair and hold him close, whispering loving words to him the whole time.

"So you're not afraid of me now?" His voice was hoarse and muted against her waist.

"What! No, I'm not afraid of you! I never have been." Akane's voice sounded slightly exasperated, but she kept stroking her fingers through his hair, and he drew in a deep breath of her scent. Her gi was a bit rough against his face, but smelled of warm skin and soap. Relaxing a bit more, he moved his hands under her gi-top so he could touch her bare back, still holding her close.

"And you're not angry with me for the way I acted towards those boys?"

"No, I'm not angry. If you hadn't taken care of them, I would have. And I think you had more control than I usually have after such remarks…"

"What about… that I love you…? Do you find me weak? Martial Artists aren't supposed to show weaknesses and let feelings get in the way, and I almost fell to pieces just now." He tried to laugh, but it sounded more like a sob.

"Okay, where have you heard such bullshit like that? You're not weak, and showing feelings aren't a weakness! On the contrary, I think you're very strong, both mentally and physically." Akane crouched down in front of him, trying to get him to meet her eyes.

"Heh, I guess it's some of the 'wisdom' that my pop left me with…" Ranma grinned shakily, kissing her lightly on the nose.

"I haven't even met him yet, and still I'm close to hating his guts…" Akane mused, kissing him firmly on the mouth. That was the scene that Nabiki saw as she stepped out of the house, Ranma and Akane kneeling on the ground holding each other, with Ranma's hands deep underneath Akane's gi in the back, kissing. Nabiki registered that Ranma was slightly shaking , but she chose to focus on the more obvious parts.

"Well, well, aren't we getting cosy… Be nice to my sis now Ranma, or I'll castrate you with a dull spoon and grind up your balls into spice for your last meal on this glorious earth."

"Nabiki!" Gasped Akane. Ranma had gone even paler, and nodded frantically in fear for his tender parts.

"Take it easy Akane…" Nabiki grinned. "You kids have fun, and don't forget to use protection..!" She called out as she walked off in the direction of her car. Now it was Akane who turned white as she realised she hadn't given birth control a single thought.

"Ranma, we didn't… we didn't use any protection..! Oh my god! I could be pregnant!" Akane ranted on about how she'd forgotten all about it, while Ranma just stared at her with a growing smile.

#Pregnant? I wouldn't mind that… My – our own kid… And she'd have been even more bonded to me then… But we'd have to marry. Marry… Akane as my wife… Hmm…# His line of thought was interrupted as Akane hit him with her fist on his chest, demanding his attention.

"Ranma! This is serious!"

"I know… But… I don't mind if you're pregnant. It would be kind of cool." Ranma smiled, feeling like he was on an emotional roller-coaster, going from bliss to depression and back to joy again.

"Wha-! Really?" Akane seemed relieved, calming down slightly. "But still, I think we should get some birth control of some kind, 'cause if nothing has happened yet I want it to stay that way for a while. I want to experience this new thing between us first, to just be young and in love…"

"Okay. We can arrange an appointment with a doctor, and we'll go together to get you checked and get the information we need. Now, in the meantime, maybe you could show me around this place?"

"Yeah, I can do that. And don't think I've forgotten about your idea about us going out tonight…" With a smile she got back up and pulled Ranma with her, keeping one of his hands in hers as she led him towards the main-building.

**Some thoughts for you to think about now, at the end of this chapter...**

**Soun still doesn't know about Ranma SAOTOME... What about the agreement between the two families?**

**Has Genma returned to Nodoka, and if so, what has he told her about Ranma?**

**Will the other fiancées show up again?**

**Are there no cats around the Tendo Dojo?**

**Will Nabiki's investigations bring the attention to Ranma, and stir up in things that has laid dormant while he was "dead"?**

**I haven't even answered all of the questions in my own mind yet, but it should get your juices flowing...**


End file.
